Goals for Girls with Jabala

Starting in 2006, Jabala Action Research Organization (to learn more about the other fantastic programs they offer please click on the website link) began a program to teach football (soccer) to girls in Murshidabad and Kolkata India. The idea is to help these young women develop a greater sense of self-esteem, self-discipline, and positive bodily integrity using team sports as the means to accomplish this. Over the years there have been many football camps organized by Jabala and held in in the West Bengal district of Murshidabad for young girls between the ages of 14-18. These camps are a real success because they help create lasting friendships as well as improved health and happiness for those participating in this fun outdoor physical activity. It is crucial to keep this program alive for these girls as many are survivors of many forms of social and domestic violence and live in a region that has a particularly high rate of forced child marriages. The good news is that since the program’s inception 320 girls have participated and not one has been married before the age of 18. The goal of this fundraising campaign is to provide enough money to hold several camps, either for 2 days at a time or for 7 days, providing overnight housing, nutritious meals, and a proper coach. The following is a breakdown of the percentage covered by the total cost:

Short term camp - 2 days for 20 girls: $700

Housing-  30%

Food, including nutritional supplements-  40%

Training materials-  20%

Coach-  10%

Long term training camp - for 20 girls for 7 days: $2000 (Same percentages apply)

We are initially asking for donations to cover one short term camp at this time. Please help us meet our goal! Thank you for your support.