My Life, Mere Faisle (My Decisions)

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population, India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. As a country with the largest youth population, it also poses unique challenges for the young people, especially with regards to their access to SRHR knowledge and services.

1. Stigma around SRHR conversations: SRHR is considered a taboo and conversations regarding SRHR are often missing from key spaces like family, education institutions, traditional media etc, that a young person occupies the most. This leads to both lack of awareness on the issue and young people associating shame with exploring their own SRH needs and rights. The situation is especially dire for young people from underserved communities as they do not have easy access to an alternative narrative or a safe space which encourages curiosity and learning around SRHR.  According to the National Family and Health Survey 2019-20 (NFHS 5) the unmet need of contraception for women in the age group 20 – 24 years was 17-18%. 12 percent of women aged 15-49 who have ever had sex and 9 percent of men aged 15-49 who have ever had sex reported having an STI and/or symptoms of an STI in the past 12 months.

2. Young People excluded from decision making spaces: Young people in the country are often viewed as naive and inexperienced to make any critical decisions regarding their life and bodies. This narrative results in young people being excluded from decisions regarding their own life and body causing a barrier for them to exercise their agency and practice bodily autonomy. This situation is especially worse for young girls and women as a result of discriminatory gender stereotypes and roles. According to the NFHS 5 only 36% of married women without a living child were allowed to visit a health facility alone and 30-35.4% of the women (20-24 years) reported being married before the age of 18. 7-8% of adolescents aged between 15 – 19 years have started child bearing. Only 29% and 40% of women in the age group of 15-19 years and 20-24 years’ age group are allowed to go to health facilities alone.

3.  SRHR viewed predominantly from an awareness and service lens: Typically, SRHR focuses on youth awareness and service access. Yet, patriarchal norms and stigma, plus exclusion from decision-making, demand a preventative approach. This entails empowering youth through mindset shifts and building leadership, as many lack crucial decision-making, negotiation, collaboration, and conflict management skills due to their exclusion from key spaces, impeding their SRH rights.

4. Lack of spaces to work together and take collective action: Another major struggle is also that young people are often limited within their own socio-economic bubble. This not only leads to a limited SRHR perspective in young people, but also takes away an opportunity to build cross-border friendships, ecosystem of support and co-leading a collective advocacy effort that can challenge existing stigma and narrative surrounding SRHR.

Engaging with young people is key in addressing barriers to gender equality. Pravah  has successfully implemented the My Life, Mere Faisle, MLMF (My Life, My Decisions) intervention to address issues of SRHR since its pilot in 2015. It aims at creating transformative journeys for young people by equipping them with life skills to exercise their agency to make decisions about their own lives and to lead social-action to address various forms of gender based discrimination in their communities. 

The solution also focuses on unpacking  the root cause of the stigma and inaccessibility of information around SRHR with an intersectional lens by working with youth on values, attitudes, behaviors that leads to a mindset shift.  My Life My Decisions curriculum is designed keeping youth at the centre by building thematic understanding on gender, along with building capacities such as aspiration building, negotiation skills, decision making and conflict management that can be applied to address issues. 

Components of the solution:

1. Curriculum based Training: The aim of the curriculum is to address the issue of lack of awareness about SRHR through a mindset shift approach. The main components of the curriculum are-  

• Awareness building on issues like SRHR and other connected issues like Gender, Identity and Privilege, Sexuality etc such that young people are not only building a nuanced understanding of these issues but also challenging the stigmas that they hold. This becomes crucial for the holistic awareness building of young people.

• Key capacity building like aspirations, negotiation, conflict management, effective decision making skills, systems thinking etc to support young people to exercise their agency in a manner that is inclusive and informed. 

1. Youth-led collective Social Action: One of the key elements of the programme is also to create empowering and collaborative spaces for young people from various identities and realities to come together and undertake collective advocacy efforts. This is done by-

• Once young people have undergone the curriculum training, they are selected as youth leaders and undergo a 6-month fellowship which consists of skill-based training focusing on advocacy, community mobilization and stakeholder engagement and leading social action.

• Youth leaders receive mentoring support to be able to lead social transformative work on issues of SRHR, GBV and CEFM within their communities.

• Youth-led campaign that aims to challenge social norms and change narratives on SRHR and amplify youth voices.

1. Stakeholder Engagement: The programme also focuses on stakeholder engagement such that young people are able to exercise their learnings and voice their needs and opinions while feeling supported by the key stakeholders in their life. Engaging stakeholders (parents, families, educators, local influencers, leaders and other NGOs) to create a relationship with community members and build an ecosystem such that the intervention is sustainable, dynamic and transparent because of the long term vision to create leaders from and for the communities.

Target Population:

• Intensive work will be undertaken with adolescent and young people ranging from 12-24 years of age. These young people reside in rural, semi urban and urban villages, towns and cities in India. They come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds including tribal communities, other backward castes and classes as well as first generation learners.

How are they underserved:

1. Limited knowledge and access:

• Owing to their socio-economic realities, most young people do not have the access to formal education. This acts as a barrier to access knowledge and information on SRHR and consequently their overall development 

• Even the young people who have access to formal education have limited knowledge or carry numerous stigmas themselves due to a taboo around SRHR. - an outcome of an education system that doesn’t have empowering and non-judgemental spaces or trained teachers that allow for these conversations. 

• 2. Lack of decision making skills:

• Presence of the narrative that young people do not have enough lived experiences or understanding to make critical decisions that leads to their exclusion from decision making spaces. Most young people do not have a say in decisions regarding their own life and body.

• Other discriminatory norms like gender stereotypes and roles act as major barriers and  make it more difficult for young women to speak and take a stand for themselves.

• 3. Lack of legitimate spaces:

• They often lack spaces to come together as a group to voice out their concerns and challenges. This disables them from identifying and acknowledging their challenges and restricts them from exercising their agency. 

How does the solution work:

1. Awareness: Our curriculum is contextualized based on the realities of our participants. This helps them to not only understand SRHR conceptually but also identify how SRHR issues and struggles play out in their own context and social reality.

2. Agency: Focusing on building critical skills like negotiation, conflict management, value based decisions etc supports young people to engage and collaborate with adults to exercise their agency. 

3. Creating spaces for advocacy:

• This solution creates a space that addresses issues of SRHR through shared programme and campaign experiences that are rooted in local reality & based on best practices.

• Creating opportunities for cross learning and facilitating connections such that the larger landscape on SRHR is informed by local and changing realities of young people & vice-versa. This also creates a space for them to understand different narratives and exchange their thoughts.

• Enabling youth leaders in designing their SAPs will capacitate young people to work with diverse stakeholders and challenge social norms on SRHR through joint-campaigning & on-ground social action projects which will start their self to society journey.

Team is currently working across five different locations, with the Team Lead being placed in the central office in Delhi and location based teams . Location team consists of young people who are from the regional context and understand the needs of the community and young people. All the team members also have previous experience of working on issues of SRHR with young people. Most of our team members are Pravah alumni who have gone through the capacity building workshops, implemented their action projects and are aware of the values that the organization adheres to. Bringing in young people who understand the ground realities and have the passion to create an ecosystem that would lead to social change is our biggest strength. 

Young people are actively engaged in our programme through various processes and spaces like-

• Audience Analysis to understand the needs of the participants and develop a curriculum that responds to their needs.

• Involvement of alumni in onboarding young people from the community and being the facilitators, peer-mentors and buddies to these young people.

• Team regularly does field visits and feedback sessions to understand the ground realities, identify the gaps. Their inputs are incorporated into the midpoint and endpoint reviews to collectively come up with strategies and navigate through the challenges. For eg: after feedback from our participants, topics like masculinity, gender based violence, contraception etc were added to the curriculum.

• Our campaigns are designed and customized by the young people themselves so that it creates a space for collaboration, establishes a sense of trust within the community and a space for young people to demonstrate their leadership skills.

The solution has till now served with 40,000 young people directly and has impacted more than 7 million people.

The uniqueness of this offering in the Indian context is:-

1. Youth-Centered Preventive Work: By placing young people at the core of the initiative, the project delves into the root causes of SRHR being  a stigmatized issue. This involves collaborating with youth to reshape their values, attitudes, and behaviors, leading to a transformative shift in mindset. The curriculum, known as MLMF, emphasizes awareness of issues like SRHR, Gender from the lens of intersectionality and equips young individuals with skills like setting aspirations, negotiation, decision-making, and conflict management to navigate barriers around  these issues. 

2. Psycho-social approach: The intervention design supports a young person’s discovery of themselves- within the context of their environment and enables them to lead social action. Our programmes place equal focus on self-transformation as social transformation and finding the interlinkages between both that contributes to sustainable change.

3. Promoting Awareness and Agency: While various interventions aim to raise awareness of young people's rights and bridge knowledge gaps, social norms still restrict their decision-making power. The MLMF initiative's objectives include building agency and leadership among young people, enabling them to pursue their aspirations, make informed choices about their careers and health, select partners, and determine the age of marriage. This is achieved through intergenerational dialogue and positive conflict management.

4. Changing Narratives: The initiative strives to create platforms that amplify changes in narratives within various systems like families, educational institutions, and communities. These efforts are driven by active campaigns ( on-ground and online ) and dialogues led by young people themselves. By empowering youth, the project aims to promote positive change and inclusivity in SRHR and gender-related issues.

5. Youth-led localized and national campaign: Through a youth-led campaign young people demonstrate their leadership to identify challenges locally, build a community of support, work with stakeholders and lead change within their communities. Agency exercised by them makes them significant stakeholders and enhances their voice. 

The innovation within this solution in the Indian context  is deeply rooted in its holistic and multi-faceted approach to addressing SRHR issues from a youth centric lens. It combines the intricacies/difficulty of local context, the dynamism of youth leadership, and the potency of advocacy to create a more effective and sustainable impact. As a country with a demographic bulge,  empowering young people to fostering community engagement, and emphasizing collective impact and visibility, this solution is pioneering a path toward making youth partners in the solution to this complex issue. This will contribute to a  world where sexual and reproductive health and rights are a reality for young people. Its adaptability and focus on learning ensure its resilience and continued success in an ever-changing world. This innovative approach offers a promising future, where the well-being and rights of young people in the realm of SRHR are upheld and protected.

Vision: 

A world where every young person has access to and can advocate for SRHR knowledge and services in their own lives and mainstream the issue in their communities. 

Impact:
The impact of this approach is multifaceted. It seeks to:

1. Empower Youth: Empowers young individuals to challenge societal norms and actively engage in their communities.

2. Transform Mindsets:  Reshape values and attitudes  leading to a transformative shift in mindset towards Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

3. Amplify Youth Voices: Enable young people to identify local challenges, collaborate with stakeholders, and create change within their communities.

4. Build Awareness and Agency: Bridge knowledge gaps and empower young people to make informed choices.

Strategies:

1. Psycho-Social Approach: Incorporating a holistic psycho-social approach that encourages youth to explore their identities and drive social change.

2. Youth-Centered Preventive Work: Placing young people at the core of the initiative, reshaping values and behaviors.

3. Capacity Enhancement: Enhancing the capacities of youth workers and supporting youth-engaging organizations.

4. Changing Narratives: Creating platforms to amplify changes in gender narratives.

5. Amplifying the Narrative: Utilizing engaging content, visuals, and influencer partnerships to extend reach.

6. Community Engagement: Actively involving young people and community stakeholders in campaigns and social action projects.

7. Collective Impact and Visibility: Emphasizing the importance of coming together as a coalition to attract more stakeholders and resources.

Outcomes:
The outcomes of this approach are:

1. Increased awareness on SRHR as an youth centric and intersectional issue

2. Enhanced agency to take informed decisions and charge of their lives and bodies 

3. Increased leadership capacities to take action in communities and engage other young people and relevant stakeholders on issues of SRHR 

4. Youth-led collective advocacy for SRHR at regional and national levels forefronting youth issues.

5. Creating a network of traditional and non-traditional allies as partners to address the complex issues of gender and SRHR at the local and regional level. 

Activities 

1. Curriculum creation 

2. Capacity building of the youth leaders

3. Fellowship journey of youth leaders supporting their social action 

4. Youth led campaign 

5. Stakeholder engagement 

The solution team consists of 7 full-time staff members, 5 part-time staff members, and 3 members on contractual basis - a total of 15 individuals dedicated to the project. This diverse team composition allows for a combination of consistent, in-depth expertise from full-time staff and flexible support from part-time and consultants, contributing to a well-rounded and efficient approach to project development and execution.

Number of years - 8 years

In 2015, the solution was conceptualized and piloted. In this phase we co-created the curriculum and implemented the programme as a coalition with 10 partner organisations reaching 1200 young people. 

In 2018, we strengthened the implementation by introducing a fellowship component and joint advocacy campaign – Chota Muh Khari Baat, reaching 6800 young people. 

In 2021, we focussed on deepening the engagement by reaching 30,000 young people in 28 districts. 

We look forward to further strengthening the program by deepening our outreach,  enhancing the curriculum, and supporting previous youth leaders to further their initiatives. 

Pravah’s functioning and programming stems from our core belief in the need to create safe and empowering spaces for every young individual irregardless of their identity and ideologies. All our programmes are aligned with the organization’s core values of learning, freedom, social hope, ownership and love. By upholding these values and the ever present intention of creating safe spaces, we ensure that we are living and practicing the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

We also ensure consistent focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion through our organizational process like-

- Shared leadership framework: At Pravah, decisions are made collectively by teams or groups of leaders, fostering collaboration and inclusivity in decision-making. This also ensures that when decisions are being made, it is cognizant of every individual’s reality and needs. 

- Agile Programmes: Listening to young people is a core principle for Pravah, creating an environment where they feel heard, provide us regular feedback and can co-create solutions aligned with their needs. We also focus on nurturing youth leadership, allowing ideas to emerge from young leaders, which fosters learning for both facilitators and young individuals.

- Cross-border engagement: Pravah takes a unique approach by emphasizing the importance of co-creation amongst young people, facilitating cross-border ( referring to multiple identities) peer engagement, and employing experiential learning pedagogy to create a space for young people to interact with other young people who come from a different reality than their own. This creates a space for young people to practice empathy and also broaden their own perspectives.

- Inclusive Policies: Pravah has numerous policies, including a safeguarding policy and recruitment policy, to ensure a safe, inclusive, and fair opportunity for individuals of all identities. Regular HR training is conducted to maintain the organization's focus on these principles.

- Organizational Process and Spaces: As an organization, we also have various processes and safe spaces like Internal Complaints Committee, Skips (mentors who are different from supervisors and from a different team) etc in place which ensures that every individual has a support system within the organization that they can reach out to for support and flag their concerns without any fear.

Coming from diverse backgrounds and identities with diverse experiences, Pravah ensures to form and develop leaders that are well-equipped to manage and lead diverse teams effectively. 

By actively working to change policies, practices, and norms that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion in the organization, Pravah creates a more equitable environment for everyone and thereby helps team members from diverse backgrounds and identities to come together and work towards achieving a common goal as a team.

Pravah does not have a business model as we are a not-for-profit organisation. However, we do have ways to raise revenue through resource generation via grants that help us create a value chain as described below.

Pravah serves young people of India, to nurture their leadership for their wellbeing, become active citizens and influence positive change in their communities. We aim to nurture youth leadership directly and by strengthening the national youth development ecosystem to impact more young people. India is currently experiencing a demographic dividend with more than 65% of the population below 35 years of age. They are the nation’s most valuable asset, and investment in this population could play a critical role in achieving the nation’s ambitious target to become a US$ 5 trillion economy. However, investing in their leadership will help us multiply the potential of each individual and lead to social transformation that is necessary along with economic growth. At Pravah, we believe we need to invest in youth for youth’s sake, therefore making it a Demographic Multiplier effect.

Our key services to realise our mission includes transformative leadership journeys for young people wherein they are supported to build self-awareness and awareness of social systems and development issues through experiential learning methodologies. These journeys are focussed on different thematics like Health, Mental Health, Climate Action, Community-based development. These leadership journeys enhance a young person’s potential to influence change in the circles they inhabit, makes them more empathetic leaders and therefore employable. Young people do not get opportunities to explore their leadership potential in the current educational system, in family spaces they are most often kept away from decision-making spaces, providing them a space to explore their feelings, passions, potential to initiate change, understanding social narratives that uphold discrimination allows for young people to realise the leader in them.

We serve the national youth development ecosystem by providing customised workshops for youth development professionals as per their need. We conduct annual flagship programmes Big Ticket - Instructional Design and Facilitation for development professionals to create wholesome programmes and sessions and Ocean in a Drop – Building perspective on Youth Development for professionals working with young people, both for professionals for organisations across India. Additionally, we conduct training of trainers on different modules related to employability, community interventions, and organisation specific modules. Investing in capacity building programmes further allows organisations to raise resources highlighting their commitment to Learning and Development.

Strengthening the ecosystem, we pioneer youth development strategies like youth advisory boards, nurturing networking platforms for young social entrepreneurs, leadership journeys for early-stage young social entrepreneurs working with and for young people to strengthen their initiatives, organisation development programmes for youth-engaging organisations from Tier II and Tier III cities in India. The youth development ecosystem comprises of organisations serving young people, the growth of these organisations will contribute to a strong system serving the young population of India.

The impact of our work is to nurture young leaders who further go on to build equitable and empathetic communities and enhance organisations working with young people across India. Our services could eventually lead to the people and organisations generating revenue, however it is not a direct outcome of our engagement.

Resource generation

The organization will raise funds to support the operating costs of the My Life, Mere Faisle programme through grants on gender equality, enhanced sexual and reproductive health and rights, youth leadership and extending services of instructional design and facilitation for effective youth-engagement through capacity building of other organizations engaging with youth. In the long-term our expected costs include human resources at the different states where we engage with young people. By raising resources for location coordinators through multiple programmes, we will be able to raise significant funds for the human resources required to manage the operations of this programme. 

Collaboration and partnerships

We have over the years had a legacy of working with partner organizations who have been incubated at Pravah through our various leadership and social entrepreneurship programmes, many of them were participants of our youth programmes who then moved onto realise their vision of change by establishing their own organisations in the communities they come from. We are able to reach diverse young people with innovative approaches to youth development through these partners. They facilitate transformative journeys like My Life Mere Faisle with contextualisation, to expand their enterprise’s area of work and positively impact the communities they belong to. Therefore, many costs of programming are met with partners.

Selling the product 

Pravah has  been creating customised curriculum and running training programmes as a service for the sector and cross subsiding costs for its programmes. As the curriculum has been contextualised and has a proof of concept, there will be an attempt to offer it to the sector and have training of youth workers who can then take it to their contexts and customise the programme. This will enable us to expand outreach and raise resources to further support direct outreach for the programme. 

Community led fundraising 

Youth leaders have in the past raised resources through crowdfunding programmes to sustain their programmatic expenses and support in building community ownership towards solutions. Young people have also been entrepreneurial in creating initiatives and spin offs from their action projects that have eventually become funded organisations that have been able to sustain change on ground. This is another model that we have tested for other programmes at Pravah and can replicate for this solution.