When Susan saw the scores on her 8th class mark sheet, she was happy to see how well she had performed. Dreaming of the new books, notebooks, colourful pens and new school uniform, Susan couldn’t contain her happiness the whole summer break waiting for the new session to kickstart. What felt like a dreamy summer, […]

Sushmita is a 19 year old EMG who has been married for 6 years with two children less than 2 years of age. She has been a movement leader for IMAGE for nearly 2 years now and is seen conducting meetings every 15 days with the other EMGs and their families. When the COVID-19 pandemic […]

With a long ponytail, red bindi and sparkling eyes, Mangala is one of the youngest movement leaders of IMAGE. She was married when she was just 5 years old and it has been 10 years since. Soon after Mangala was registered under the IMAGE project as an early married girl, she started attending different pieces […]

Unlike a lot of children, Aruna didn’t experience a carefree childhood. Rather than playing with toys, Aruna used to sell toys with her parents at a nearby temple to ensure their survival. As soon as Aruna turned 15, her parents married her off to a construction worker. Aruna’s suffering didn’t end there; in fact, it […]

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” This is true for every goal one wants to achieve. Terre des Hommes Netherlands, empowering children to be agents of change follows the same approach. The month of July saw one such preparation session where the movement leaders of the IMAGE  project […]

As the state government of Karnataka announced the reopening of schools, 7-year-old Anitha is filled with joy. Joy not just to meet her friends who she hasn’t met in two years but the joy to see the opportunity of getting an education, unlike her two elder sisters who were forced into child marriage when the […]

In 2020, Divya* from a village in Belagavi, Karnataka was excited about writing her Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam. Clearing this examination would be more than a milestone for the 17-year-old as she had to stop her education when she was married at the age of 14.    “I was really upset that I […]

Mangala is a fourteen-year-old from a village in Karnataka who was married at the age of 9 years when she was studying in 3rd standard. Her family has 9 members, Mangala being the third eldest daughter out of seven. She was married off at a very young age like her elder sisters because the family […]

Nayana is a 17-year-old from a small village in North Karnataka. She got married at the age of 14 when she was studying in class nine. In the initial days of her married life, she faced a lot of challenges but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her studies. She even secured 80% in the […]