10 girl and 4 boy members of our sponsorship program for children of single parents, usually mothers, participated in this year’s 3 day gender awareness workshop led by Manju Devi. This topic is very powerful because gender identification continues to pervade society and greatly effects what young people can achieve in life. Many of the students talked emotionally about the difficulties faced by their mothers when they became widows and how disparaging remarks by relatives and neighbours made them feel outcast. Providing a safe situation for youngsters to share their feelings and develop bonds of trust and friendship is extremely valuable.
