Yuwa is a girls' football program in India. It uses girls' team sports as a platform for social development in rural India. It is one of the largest programs, with 250 players, 150 of whom practice daily. In 2009, Franz Gastler founded Yuwa with the financial help of his high school friends, Greg Deming, Stephen Peterson, and Erik Odland, to use football as a platform to combat

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

illiteracy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

among girls in rural India.

Details

History

Vision statement: 'Yuwa, which means "youth" in Hindi, works specifically with girls from impoverished families in rural

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, India—a place where girls are at risk of child marriage and human trafficking. It is a program that uses team sports and education to build character, confidence, and courage. It is a place where girls who don't yet know their worth can meet to compete, achieve goals, and create brighter futures. Yuwa prepares girls to break the cycle of poverty—permanently' (Yuwa About). Franz Gastler has given TEDx talks on "Sports to promote confidence in women" (2012), "The Girl Effect" (2013) and with Rinky Kumari "Yuwa - How football can change lives" (2015). The program was featured as a Microsoft Edge Partner, November 16, 2017, highlighting the new Yuwa web page. The News & Media page has a list of media articles describing Yuwa.

Donosti Cup football tournament

Participation in the 2013 tournament helped Yuwa achieve recognition in India. Their participation in the 2016 tournament in Spain was featured in a short series of four videos by the Bollywood star

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

. They were the second team invited to the 2018 25th Anniversary tournament.

Awards

* Laureus Sport for Good Award (2019)

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.yuwa-india.org/ Sports organisations of India Rural development in India Women's sports organizations