To mark International Youth Day (12 August), Bollywood Actress and Unicef India ambassador Priyanka Chopra met with young women in Chandrapur, India, to witness how their lives are being transformed through the Barclays and Uunicef Building Young Futures programme.
Building Young Futures is a global partnership between Barclays and Unicef that aims to unlock the potential of young people from disadvantaged communities in six countries around the world.
In India, the programme gives young women peer to peer support in developing the life, enterprise and financial skills they need to overcome the challenges they face to become strong, financially independent women as well as agents of change in their communities. This includes learning how to save, build business plans and develop small enterprises, while helping them to build confidence and leadership and networking skills.
There are around 243 million adolescents on the subcontinent and they are facing rising youth unemployment. Life can be particularly hard for young women as they face the challenges of limited economic opportunities and access to training and employment, which reinforce broader issues of discrimination and poverty.
Chopra said: "Girls have the ability to transform their own lives, develop their own enterprises and help grow India's economy. The Building Young Futures programme being implemented by Unicef in collaboration with Barclays is giving them the vital skills and support they need to make this happen.
"I met girls who have experienced incredible hardship in their lives. Building Young Futures has given them a voice and confidence, or daring as they call it. These girls are working together, setting up businesses, planning their futures; they are empowered to handle the challenges life throws at them."
The programme depends on Barclays, Unicef and the government of Maharashtra sharing their expertise. By 2015, Building Young Futures in India will have empowered around 100,000 girls and young women and another 200,000 girls through the programme being scaled up by the Maharashtra Human Development Commissionerate. It will have helped these young women to build confidence, knowledge and skills, and give them the opportunity to build sustainable livelihoods.
Ram Gopal, chief operating officer, Barclays India, said: "Barclays is committed to supporting young people to develop the skills to fulfil their potential. Through Building Young Futures, we are able to empower these young women in India, teach them that they are equal to men, and help provide them with the skills they need to become economically empowered individuals. Building Young Futures is part of our global goal to support five million young people in becoming the next generation of achievers."
During the visit Priyanka met young women including Sadhana Chaudhari. Before joining the programme, Chaudhari, 23, was timid and reserved, and quietly went about her life without interacting with anyone and never really expressed herself.
Building Young Futures gave Chaudhari a voice: "Joining the Building Young Futures programme was a turning point in my life," she says.
In India the programme trains young women, known as Prerikas, who then go out into their communities and share what they've learnt with other young women – helping to transform the lives of many more people. The Prerikas set up adolescent girls' groups and self-help groups which start to save and do business together. Chaudhari's group has saved close to 21,000 rupees (more than £200) and they now plan to use the savings to help set up a sanitary towel business.
The training also gave Chaudhari the confidence and determination to pursue her studies, and she is now completing her degree. It also gave her the skills she needed to take on her father's business when he fell ill, ensuring she's able to continue to provide for her family.
Building Young Futures is part of Barclays' Five Million Young Futures goal: a global goal to support five million young people in becoming the next generation of achievers. Chaudhari is just one of them.
Find out more about Building Young Futures.
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