"The person I was before, I am not her anymore"

“When we attended this program, I learned about the dangers of child marriage. They taught us about it, about becoming educated, and how you can change your life. I took all of that into my mind and my heart. I will never forget the experience I had. It changed my life and gives me the hope to keep living.

By now I would already have been married. And I would have become completely physically malnourished. If I’d had children, they would have been the same.

Before the program, anyone — inside the house or outside — would say whatever they wanted to me, and I couldn’t say anything back. But through the Girls’ Collective, I have learned courage. Now I stand up for myself. I can say: ‘This is my right.’ That feels good.

I think back to who I was before, how many problems I faced. And now, whenever there is stress at home — my mother, family or society saying, ‘Why haven’t you done what was expected? Why haven’t you married?’ — bravery comes from within.

The greatest source of pride is that I am the one girl from my community who has done her B.A. No one else has done it. I’m so grateful that I found a way forward. Without this program, I could never have done it.

The person I was before, I am not her anymore. I feel so happy. I have moved forward in my life.

I hope people can see that even coming from a poor home, I have moved forward through hard work. Every girl should have the opportunity to move forward like me, and there should be no child marriage.

Meeting the people from CAMILLA here in Bihar has been such an incredible moment in my life. It has lifted me up even further. I hope we can achieve more in the future. This day could not be more special to me.

I have become an empowered girl. Now I am not afraid of anything. We are living with freedom. Because I have understood that everybody has fundamental rights, and we are citizens of this country. Now there is no fear. Justice. Anywhere I go, [I can speak] — no one can refuse me.”

 

Thank you to CAMILLA for partnering with The Hunger Project since 2018 and supporting the Adolescent Girls program through The Butterfly Effect.

To read more about the impact our programs had on communities in India and globally in 2025, click here.