Help Pooja avoiding child marriage and prostitution

Here at Sambhali Trust, we fight everyday for women rights, women empowerment and against child marriage.

The state of Rajasthan is known to be conservative andpatriarchal. In this society, women’s conditions are more difficult. As education is still considered a privilege, illiteracy among women is unfortunately common. Low educational rate is related to child marriage, a custom banned by the Indian government but still a large part of the Indian society.

Girls in India states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana rarely make it past Year 5 at school. That is when their education ends and married begins.

Socially, economically and educationally deprived, these women are also more vulnerable to violence among their family and the community in general. 

Pooja is an 11-year-old girl living on the streets of Jodhpur, India. As many other girls in Rajasthan, she is deprived of a decent education and a safe living environment where she is prone to becoming a victim of child marriage by the age of 12 and increases her vulnerability to harmful professions such as child prostitution.

We want to influence Pooja’s future by offering her a spot at Sambhali Trust’s Boarding Home.

It is a place where girls are provided a nurturing home and education, where they are able to develop, learn and unleash their ambition.

It only takes 2000€ to change Pooja’s life. By making a contribution, large or small, together we can give Pooja a promising future!

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION

Name: Pooja Jogi
Age: 11 years
Siblings: One brother
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: banana, papaya, roti (chapati)

For her young age, Pooja already has an incredible life story. She has been living in a small hut on the street of Jodhpur with her younger brother, mother and father for as long as she can remember.

Since August 2016, Pooja has been coming to the Empowerment Centre to learn to write and read Hindi as well as sewing. At the centre she meets many other young women who have become her friends. However, this might be her only opportunity to connect with other girls during the day. 

Laura, a volunteer from Germany asked her to describe her daily life:

“I wake up in the morning. Then I wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I come to the Centre by van. For lunch I eat roti and vegetables.
Then I collect garbage on the streets. I help my brother, I teach him.
We live in a hut and we sleep in a cart. I dream of having a house because I currently live on the street.” (Translated from Hindi)

To know more about Pooja, watch her video on Youtube !

Sambhali Trust is a non-profit organization based in Jodhpur, whose focus is the development and empowerment of women and girls in Rajasthan.

Since 2007, Sambhali Trust is working to improve the lives of women in Jodhpur through education. English, Hindi, Mathematics and vocational training such as embroidery and sewing classes are given daily in eight different empowerment centres throughout Jodhpur.