Sarika, a student of Class V, had to drop out of school earlier this year. Reason: she was required at home to take care of a younger sibling. She would have spent the rest of her childhood confined to the four walls of her house in Bapu Dham colony, had she not found a helping hand in time. The ten-year-old is now a player in the girls’ cricket team for Bapu Dham.As many as 45 girls of this colony are part of the team, which is bringing about a change in the life of these girls from the not-so-privileged sections of the society.The initiative was taken in 2006 by an NGO, Yuvsatta. The number of girls increased gradually. The team has now been nominated for this year’s ‘Sports for Change’ award that is given by Nike and carries the theme of ‘Change the Game for Women in Sports’. It is one of the teams nominated from across the globe. Parmod Sharma, co-ordinator of Yuvsatta, says: “It is a common practice in the slums to make girls drop out of school to take care of their younger siblings. For these girls, even reaching up to Class X is an achievement. Most of them are married off at an early age.”He adds: “The cricket team has brought about a lot of changes in the girls. Their confidence level has increased. Their parents feel proud when the girls, clad in their sports gear, venture out into the field. We will try that the girls also complete their education and are aware of life skills too.”Yuvsatta plans to put Sarika back in school soon.Anjana, the captain of the junior cricket team, says: “The team has helped my confidence to grow. One of the highlights of being part of the team was meeting the Indian cricket team when it visited the city for a match. I got to interact with cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar. It was a memorable day.”
