664 girls have undergone the Jhula Life Skills Programme

Jhula, the life-skills programme, is the outcome of Sahyog’s experiences in education and community health and has been developed from a rights-based perspective. For adolescent girls growing up in underprivileged families, life is careworn as they shoulder myriad household responsibilities and mobility is largely restricted. The yearning to be free is buried deep.

The thrill of going up in a swing and coming down in a rush is a universal, unforgettable experience imbued with the feeling of freedom. We named the life-skills programme Jhula to symbolise this feeling of being free, care-free, free to explore and experience--the hallmark of adolescence. 

The three themes of Jhula: Jism (Body), Jahan (World) and Zindagi (Life), encompassed in 8   modules, address the various spaces, experiences and institutions that the girls we work with are likely to face. Jhula combines learning with practical work and community interaction to allow girls to step out of restricted spaces. It aims to give the girls knowledge, skills, and experiences that are otherwise inaccessible to them.

Achievements

  • Several components of Jhula have been incorporated in ‘Tejaswini’, which is the life-skills programme developed by the Government of Maharashtra as part of the National Programme for Education of Girls at the Elementary Level (NPEGEL). The overall methodology of Tejaswini is also influenced by Jhula.
  • Through Tejaswini, components of Jhula were implemented in 50 blocks across rural and urban Maharashtra, covering 20-30 thousand girls between 9-14 years.
  • Resource persons from Sahyog were invited in August 2004 to conduct a training of trainers at the state level in a workshop held in Pune, and in October 2004 to conduct a district level training of middle school teachers from four talukas in Beed district.
  • Sahyog was nominated as a resource organisation to conduct life-skills training for BMC schools. Approximately 1200 girls from Classes 5-7 in six wards were trained through workshops in March 2006.
  • Sahyog conducted life skills training for teachers of Urdu medium secondary schools at Aurangabad in December 2007 on the invitation of Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti.
  • Between 2012-2015, Training of Trainers (ToT)-workshop have been conducted for facilitators from 7 community based organisations.

Methodology

  • The modules are a combination of researched information, group building exercises, stories, songs, poems, and games. Each module consists of a series of sessions; each session takes up to 2 hours to transact. The modules were originally designed in Marathi but now are available in English and Hindi.
  • The role of the facilitator is to absorb thoroughly the content presented in the module, obtain additional information as required, engage the participants in a discussion with the aim of enhancing their knowledge, developing reflective skills, and motivating them to take action.

 

 

Scope

  • Jhula can be used in a variety of settings, both formal and informal.
  • Jhula was first implemented in the Sahyog schools in Jari Mari and Dindoshi, to complement the academic education of its adolescent girls who had dropped out of the formal school system.
  • In additional to in school programmes, Jhula has also been implemented for girls enrolled in vocational training programmes offered by other organizations (e.g., Pratham’s vocational training centres, Ambedkar Centre for Justice and peace) and as an after-school programme in the communities of Jari Mari, Mankhurd, Ghatkopar, Govandi and Dindoshi.

 

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