Hi! I'm Lipi Gupta.

I had an adventure this summer in Agra, India trying to make a difference in the lives of 35 young women of Nagla Kharga Village. I'd like to share my experience with you; I hope their stories move you as much as they have inspired me! Thank you for reading and feel free to contact me [by posting a comment/question] if I can be of assistance in any way, in a similar endeavor of yours!

Project SHAKTI was funded as one of 2009's 100 Projects for Peace.

Project SHAKTI Overview

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What Made Project SHAKTI Successful?

  • Using media from Dehi-based NGO Going to School in India and UNICEF that depicted other real women from villages tremendously helped me send a very strong and influential message to the girls: that they should believe in themselves, dream big, and then work hard and, if possible or necessary, go to school to realize their dreams. 7 Girls in my program have since enrolled in school. For some, Project SHAKTI was the first to encourage them to go to school and believe in themselves; and a few girls are picking themselves up after very difficult circumstances to go to school, such as the death, disability, resistance, and lack of funds of their parents.
  • I found that even when I wasn’t imparting these abstract ideas, teaching very mundane, simple things like color mixing, the Hindi alphabet, making Rakhis, and how to read a map or a newspaper were basic skills that helped the girls feel confident. Those who later went on to enroll in school then found it easier to transition after the long gap years as much of this was either assumed or taken up for review in the first weeks.
  • Another successful component of the project came from an idea that my mother and I had in response to the girls’ interest in sewing. We asked them to form groups in which a girl who had some knowledge would teach others. These groups not only more rightly replaced the study/self-help groups I intended to create, but gave them a fun, community building, empowering, and useful activity to work on together during the long afternoons that girls said they usually remained empty-handed and bored in.
  • The most important basis of success was, I think, being able to be patient and loving and having  "unconditional positive regard" for the girls, even when they girls were rude or ungratefully demanding. I learned that the primary reason the girls “tried so hard to listen” to what I told them and tried to implement it was because each girl knew that “Ms. Lipi really loves me,” as I heard from many girls. Similarly, if I had been quicker to give them things before first allowing them to go through the process of figuring out what they need and problem-solving to acquire it, then Project SHAKTI would not have been as empowering for the girls. For example, I told the sewing groups that I would be available for help, but I didn’t buy any supplies at first. Surprisingly, they never asked. Instead they got creative and borrowed from relatives, investing many people in their initiative to learn. So, I gifted many sewing supply packages only at the end, as a reward and encouragement. I think those supplies have much more value to them now that they truly earned them. 

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