Project Lehar - Adolescent Girls' Empowerment Programme
- P Project/Program
? Activity Status: Unknown
Key Information
Aga Khan Foundation (India)’s Project Lehar, which means wave in Urdu, works to empower and improve the quality of life of out-of-school adolescent girls in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh and Patna, Bihar. Lehar has a three-pronged empowerment approach for adolescents, comprising of scholastic support, vocational training and life skills education. It supports out-of-school girls through functional literacy programmes, encourages them to re-enroll into school and distance learning programmes (National Institute of Open Schooling), and provides remedial support, especially for class 10 exams. It trains girls in vocational skills to enter the formal job market, based on a thorough needs assessment of the girls and the choices available to them for meaningful livelihoods, and fosters entrepreneurship through innovative projects suited to the local context, like mushroom cultivation. Cutting across both the scholastic and vocational skills courses is life skills training which helps the girls build their confidence and agency, and understanding of how to successfully overcome the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. Over 6,000 adolescent girls have benefited from AKF’s adolescent girls’ empowerment programme. Assessments have found that 42% of girls reported higher decision-making within their households. The programme also helped girls access livelihood opportunities, with 25% of vocational trainees now earning a regular income. Other results of the programme have been a shift in community attitudes towards girls’ roles and the need for a supportive environment, stopping and delaying of early marriage by the girls and development of community change-makers from amongst the programme alumni.
Lead Implementing Organization(s)
Location(s)
South Asia
India
Government Affiliation
Non-governmental programYears
2015 -
Ministry Affiliation
UnknownFunder(s)
Prince's Trust International, The Hans Foundation, Tata Trusts, Canada Fund for Local Initiatives
COVID-19 Response
UnknownGeographic Scope
NationalMeets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES
UnknownAreas of Work Back to Top
Education areas
Attainment
- Secondary completion
Other
- Transition from school to work
Other skills
- Financial literacy
- Life skills/sexuality education
- Rights/empowerment education
- Social and emotional learning
- Vocational training
Skills
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Other academic performance-related
Cross-cutting areas
- Community sensitization
- Early/child marriage
- Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
- Empowerment
- Gender equality
- Menstrual hygiene management
- Mentorship
- Nutrition
- Other aspects of sexual and reproductive health
- Other cultural practices
- Social and gender norms and beliefs
- WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)
Program participants
Other populations reached
- Brothers
- Fathers
- Mothers
- Other caregivers
- Other community members - female
- Other community members - male
- Other family members
Participants include
- Internal migrants (from other areas of the same country)
Program Approaches Back to Top
Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization
- Community mobilization
- General awareness-raising/community engagement
Life skills education
- Gender, rights and power
- Negotiation skills
- Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)
- Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building
Menstrual hygiene management
- Educating girls about menstruation
Social/gender norms change
- Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
- Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
Tutoring/strengthening academic skills
- Literacy - outside the classroom
- Numeracy - outside the classroom
- Tutoring - general
Program Goals Back to Top
Education goals
- Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
- Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
- Increased progression to secondary school
- Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
- Increased secondary school completion
Cross-cutting goals
- Increased agency and empowerment
- Increased employment/job-related skills
- Increased knowledge of rights
- More equitable gender attitudes and norms
- Reduced child marriage