Invisible Girl Project

Care for vulnerable girls through child sponsorship: igp partners with indian organizations that rescue and care for vulnerable girls, through its child sponsorship program. Through the program, igp helps meet the financial needs of these organizations as they provide food, education, clothing, care, and mental health support for young girls who were once vulnerable to being murdered, trafficked, enslaved, or neglected. Located in one of the worst areas in india for female gendercide, one of igp's partners in south india has rescued over 400 girls from being killed. This partner forms relationships with village families and is able to determine whose pregnancies are considered "high risk." A pregnancy might be considered high risk, for example, when the family already has a Girl child. Igp's partner educates the parents and their extended families on the value of daughters, working intensively with each family to build familial bonds, with the help of social workers. Igp's partner then provides prenatal care for the mother and baby. Once a little Girl is born, igp continues to support the family, providing food rations for the family, a bank account in the child's name and ultimately the young Girl's education. Because of our partner's success these little girls have remained in their parents' homes and are thriving. Parents are also encouraged to save for their daughter and invest in this account in the future. Invisible Girl Project also partners with homes in south india that, together, care for over 900 girls who are orphaned, partially orphaned or who were in danger of neglect or abandonment. Igp's partners rescue these girls, providing them their necessities, care and education. Igp's partners always teach the rescued girls with whom they work that, in spite of the discrimination against girls and women in their culture, they are all inherently valuable. They are encouraged to obtain higher educations and work to change the culture and themselves.

Because of igp's rice program, social workers are able to identify girls who need "education assistance- and care. These are girls who are at risk of dropping out of school or who are working as child laborers, because families are impoverished or do not see the value in paying for their daughter to attend school, because she is a Girl. The social workers counsel the girls and their families, convincing them of the importance of sending their daughters to school, enroll them in school, and then purchase supplies and uniforms that the families are not able to afford. The total cost to purchase these items for each Girl in this program is about 36 annually. In addition, the social workers provide a supplemental "girls' value" based counseling and education for these girls. Igp recognizes that girls who drop out of school at an early age are more inclined to marry high maternal mortality rates, because such young mothers are giving birth, high infant mortality rates, and an increased likelihood of domestic violence and hiv for the brides. These young girls will become young mothers who, in turn, will be expected to birth sons. To effectively combat female gendercide in india, igp believes that women must have agency and economic independence. When girls in india receive education, they ultimately have an opportunity for economic independence and will be less likely to succumb to the pressures many women face to bear sons, because they do not have to rely on their husbands for income. Also, girls who are educated and obtain gainful employment are no longer seen as "economic liabilities" to their families. Kiran is a 19 year-old Girl who lives in a village where the majority of girls would drop out of school by the age of 15. Some became child brides and others were forced to work for less than a dollar a day. Kiran was bright and showed promise, so social workers encouraged kiran's family to allow her to continue her education and assisted kiran wherever needed. Kiran is the first Girl in her village known to have graduated from high school. After graduation she obtained further training to be able to obtain a good-paying job. Kiran now makes about 125 a month, which is more than most people. She helps provide for her parents and has gained a sense of strength and independence. And, the other villagers notice. Now, kiran's neighbors say they want their daughters to be -like kiran." They are starting to allow their own daughters to continue in school. And, social workers are starting to see that the number of child marriages and child laborers are decreasing. Igp calls it the "kiran effect." Igp desires for girls to be educated so they can have future opportunities that they would not have otherwise, and so they can be catalysts for ending gendercide in their communities. Through igp's education assistance program, igp endeavors to send as many girls to school in india as possible. Thus far, igp has given educational assistance to over 350 girls. When those girls have graduated from high school, igp has further helped to send over 30 of them on to college.

Rescue vulnerable little girls: one of india's partners works in one of india's highest areas for female infanticide. Using research-based methodologies, igp's partner employs a team of social workers that travels into remote indian villages and identifies when families are at the greatest risk of committing female infanticide. This partner works closely with these families, provides prenatal care for the mothers, and educates entire families on the value of girls as huma beings. Their work helps to change the mentality that girls are "burdens," combatting the cultural preference for sons, and educating families on girls' innate human rights. Once a baby Girl is born, igp's partner provides support to each family that keeps its baby girls. A monthly food "ration" (rice, lentils, spices) is provided to ensure that the mother and the daughters in the family are well-fed. In addition, the rescued baby girls are enrolled in igp's child sponsorship program igp's partner has successfully rescued over 400 baby girls from being killed. Additionally, in the villages in which igp's partner works to rescue girls, womens'empowerment groups have developed. These groups, in turn, have had a fundamental hand in assisting in further rescues of vulnerable little girls. Igp has begun to see systemic change, seeing the mentality toward Girl children evolve. Because of the rescue program's success, igp will continue to expand its work into new villages to rescue even more baby girls and work to change a culture, one family at a time.

Igp provides other program services which include baby feeding, cow loan and education programs.