Rural Indian girls get discrimination-fighting tool: soccer

A youth rodeo in Dodge City, Kansas, is growing in popularity while working to interest kids in ranch life and keep them interested in staying in their rural towns.

Those living in low-income neighborhoods and classified as economically disadvantaged are less likely to have the opportunity to spend time in the outdoors. A series of initiatives throughout the state of Colorado aim to change this by expanding access and help get minority and lower-income children into more nature.

Girls in India are sometimes forced into the prospects of child marriage, prostitution, or slave labor; alternatively, families often teach girls to be wives and mothers. To empower girls to make their own choices, Yuwa, an NGO based in India, introduces girls to sports for social development. Yuwa also promotes educational workshops for girls, where girls can discuss women’s rights and their thoughts about their own bodies.

A group of Kenyan coastal women used a blue economy grant to establish a mud crab-fattening enterprise in Jomvu Creek, generating up to $310/month in collective income and planting nearly 1 million mangrove seedlings.

Utah State University’s Women’s Climb Night is a designated two-and-a-half hours per week when the climbing walls are cleared for women to practice the male-dominated sport with other women. This way, they can spend time in an accessible, non-intimidating, and non-judgmental space.

A program in Cape Town, South Africa is helping children learn life skills and provide mental health resources through 'surf therapy.' The program called Waves for Change starts each session with some grounding meditation and energizing chants in order to prepare the group before they venture out into the sea, which for some kids was a prior source of fear. For many kids, this has been a way to learn to communicate better and a chance to improve their self-esteem.

A variety of nonprofit and philanthropic programs have started offering virtual college counseling to students living in rural communities. Through these setups, recent college graduates are often paired with students at schools where there are no full-time counselors or where the ratio of counselor to student is as high as 600 to 1.

Founded in 2000, Hopeworks provides coding and computer training combined with connections to internship and job opportunities to youth in Camden. The larger aim of the organization is to cultivate "'a positive, healing atmosphere' capable of helping participants break the cycle of poverty and violence."

In Washington, D.C., where only 27% of Black students read at grade level, the nonprofit Everybody Wins DC launched Power Readers, a program that pairs elementary students with volunteer mentors for weekly one-on-one reading sessions. Operating in six schools, the program allows students to choose their own books, receive personalized attention during lunchtime sessions, and access free, culturally relevant reading materials. J.O. Wilson Elementary recorded more than a 10% increase in literacy rates between 2022 and 2024 after implementing the program.

The Prince George's County Police Athletic League uses free, officer-led sports programs like Connect Boxing to build trust between youth and law enforcement while reducing juvenile delinquency. Participants reported improved grades, stronger discipline, and healthier decision-making skills.