Nawadih (Koshdariya), the last village in Rajauli block in Bihar, is surrounded by hills but remains isolated from essential services like education and healthcare. With most families depending on hazardous mica mining, child labour is prevalent, and awareness about education is limited.

Moonam Palli is one of the target villages of the project “Break the Chain” supported by BMZ to address the issues of labour exploitations and recruitment of adolescent girls in textile supply chain. As part of the project initiative, youth groups were formed and strengthened in all the project target villages. The youth groups in Moonam Palli village emerged as a successful group to solve community issues, one such is ensuring access to education by getting bus shelter to their village through their actions.

Manisa, a 10-year-old girl from Sabz Gazi village in Zaranj, Nimruz province, Afghanistan, like many children in her region, was unable to access education. Despite this, Manisa held on to her dreams.

Manisa spent her days listening to stories from her mother before attending project basic education classes. Now, she eagerly completes her homework.

Praveen Narayan Jadhav, a sugarcane worker from the Banjara community, faced severe financial hardships. His family migrated for seasonal work, struggling to meet their needs. This seasonal migration harmed the education of his children. They missed their school and eventually dropped out. However, with the support of the Marathwada Gramin Vikas Sanstha, Praveen got an opportunity to start poultry farming. 

Zarina, a young girl from Chhattisgarh, faced immense challenges early in life. Born in 2020, she lost her mother during childbirth, and her father rejected her. Raised by her aunt and uncle, Zarina suffered from severe malnutrition as she was fed powdered milk and black tea instead of breast milk. In October 2023, her family relocated to Ladpura village, Rajasthan, seeking work at a brick kiln. Like other children in the age group of 0-6 years, Zarina was linked to the health and nutrition centre running from the HAQ BMZ project’s support at the kiln.

A group of young people in Sagar Island in the Sundarbans have developed the mission to protect the biodiversity of their island, these youth are members of local eco clubs of Sagar Island and living in one of the most remote and ecologically vulnerable parts of the Sundarbans where they struggle to lead regular lives navigating challenges such as frequent cyclones leading to floods and the prospect of losing their island to sea-level rise.

Nilufar, a 16-year-old from the Sughd region, became passionate about water conservation after learning about water scarcity during an information session. Motivated by the session, she collaborated with her Green Patrol team to conduct a water usage survey among students and their families. The results revealed significant water wastage, prompting Nilufar to design a campaign called "Drop by Drop," which emphasized simple water-saving techniques.

The youth network at Madi was started through model youth parliamentary program where the selected youths from all wards participated. With the engagement of youth in plantation, awareness campaign on climate change, earth day celebration, capacity building training, exchange visit, seminar; youth learned that it is crucial to understand environmental and climate challenges. Training has widened the knowledge on environment and climate change issues. Youth participation in advocating environmental rights to the government and youth action towards environment conservation in the communities are growing.

This is the story of Karthala village, situated in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, where child marriage is still a harsh reality, two minor sisters, Kumkum (13) and Kirti (15), were set to be married off on January 20, 2024, due to their family's financial struggles. Their father, Rakesh Singh, a professional exorcist, saw this as an opportunity for monetary gain.

Thippamma's introduction to the "Nesara" youth group, facilitated by Sakhi, marked a turning point in her life. Initially, she passively attended workshops and meetings. However, Sakhi saw her potential, encouraging her to take on a leadership role. When elected to a position within the youth group during her second year of college, a spark was ignited.

Dibakar, a 19-year-old from a slum near Kolkata’s dumping ground, has faced rejection, discrimination, and violence for his gender expression since childhood. Growing up, he was more comfortable with girls, loved makeup, and longed to wear women’s clothing. However, his father physically abused him, and his family restricted his freedom to maintain their social reputation. During COVID-19, he had to beg at traffic signals, dressing as a woman to support his struggling family. His younger brother refused to accept him, and his neighborhood constantly mocked him with slurs.

Kamala Poudel, the Chairperson of the Panchapuri Municipality Level Gender-Based Management Committee, has been a dedicated advocate for gender justice, the rights of children, and access to legal support for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and gender-based discrimination (GBD) at the local level. Over the past three years, she has tirelessly worked to bring attention to these critical issues, ensuring that the voices of affected women and children are heard and addressed.

Najia, a 17-year-old girl from Charbagh Village in Surkhrod District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, is a student in a Literacy and Vocational Training Center, where she is learning valuable embroidery skills. Growing up in a household where opportunities were scarce, Najia often felt hopeless. Her father, Ajmal, struggled to provide for the family by selling groceries from a hand cart, earning just enough to cover half of their expenses. For Najia and many girls in her community, the future seemed limited to household duties, leaving little room for education or financial independence.