Piyali is a village approximately 30 miles outside of Kolkata, which can be defined by it's extreme poverty. Most families live on approximately $1 per day; there is limited access to potable water, proper sanitation, food, education, and medical care which perpetuates the immoral practices against girls in the village. Girls living in Piyali, like women across the globe, have been and are subjected to trafficking for marriage, prostitution, or labor; as well as being subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
Neha, 15
Since 2003 PACE Learning Centre at Piyali (PLC) , a joint venture between PACE Universal, a US based NGO, and the Rotary Club of Metropolitan Kolkata, have been working to elicit change at the grassroots level. PLC is a counter-trafficking initiative rooted in the education and development of girls. PLC currently helps more than 200 young girls where they each receive a state-approved academic education, books and supplies, uniforms, breakfast and lunch, hygiene kits, medical care and life skills training.
Gita, 16
After spending 5 weeks with the girls of PLC, the girls of grades VII to XII were asked to be apart of our 'Of Light' series.
The girls were asked to share a place or activity that makes them feel the most free/loved and that place or activity would be shown in their photos. They were also asked to hand-write stories about themselves and share whatever they wanted about their lives. The one thing they had to share in their stories was what they wanted their future to look like.
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Mili, 13