Adolescents Engagement - Asmita
Adolescents Engagement
Standing With Our
Teenagers & Youth
Education • Skilling • Confidence • Community
Through youth and teen clubs in the slums of Varanasi, ASMITA gives adolescents a safe space to learn, speak, lead and dream — building life skills, confidence and a sense of belonging during the most defining years of their lives.
The teenage years decide everything — so this is where we walk closest.
In the slum communities we serve, adolescents face a crossroads early. Many drop out of school, are pushed into rag-picking or daily labour, and girls are at risk of child marriage as young as fifteen. Without guidance, the most promising years can slip away.
Our answer is the youth and teen club — a safe, joyful space in the heart of each settlement where children come together to share, learn and grow. Today ASMITA runs 21 youth clubs, where members hold their own meetings, lead activities, and take up issues in their own community.
Animators spend full days in the slums building trust with families. From there, adolescents are supported back into education, into skilling, and into peer leadership — raising local issues like clean water, drainage and child marriage, and strengthening harmony through sports, street plays and campaigns.
Our promise to every teenager
Our Adolescent Impact
Numbers from a year of patient, club-by-club engagement across the slums of Varanasi.
From Drifting to Driving Change
How a teenager moves from the margins to leading change in their own community.
Identify
Surveys and family visits find adolescents out of school or at risk.
Join a Club
A safe space to share, play and belong with peers.
Life Skills
Communication, confidence, rights, gender and health.
Education & Skilling
Back into school or into vocational training.
Peer Leadership
Leading meetings and raising community issues.
Changemaker
Confident young people shaping their own future.
Inside Our Adolescent Work
Four connected ways we engage teenagers — from the club bench to community leadership.
Youth & Teen Clubs
21 ClubsThe heart of the program. In each slum, children and adolescents come together to share experiences, voice opinions and build unity through awareness sessions, trainings, games and events.
Animators facilitated the first meetings; from there members were trained to run their own. Across the clubs, 277 active members have held 167+ meetings — with sports, art & craft, dance, speech competitions and awareness days planned and led by the children themselves.
Life Skills & Personality Development
Every MeetingEvery club meeting is a classroom for life. Each member speaks about themselves and on real issues, building the ability to articulate, listen and lead.
Through debates, speech competitions and discussions, children gain communication skills, confidence and self-esteem. Sessions cover financial literacy, gender discrimination, child rights and safety. Noticeable change shows in grooming, hygiene, etiquette and the confidence to interact with authorities.
Community Engagement
Sathiya CentreReal change needs the whole community. Staff spend full days in the slums building trust, and hold community meetings — 56 so far — that create awareness and shared problem-solving.
A community centre named Sathiya was established in Jaiprakash Nagar as a space for meetings, training and collective problem-solving — where women are also trained in carry-bag making and have begun to earn. An informal grievance cell helps resolve family disputes and prevent child marriages.
Sports & Cultural Activities
Inter-Club MatchesEvenings come alive with footballs, carrom boards, chess sets, cricket and badminton. Sport keeps children engaged, healthy and away from harm.
Inter-club cricket matches for boys and girls, anti-drug rallies, Girl Child Day and Children's Day programs, street plays and cultural events build confidence and community harmony — and give every child a stage to shine.
Voices of Our Young People
The real measure of our work — the teenagers who found their voice with us.
Moments From Our Clubs
Glimpses of meetings, sports, campaigns and celebrations across our youth clubs.
Our Adolescent Engagement Partners
This work is strengthened by partners who believe every young person deserves a chance to grow.