My rewarding journey with MukkaMaar began very recently. It’s been 3 months now since I got the opportunity to work closely with the organisation. This experience has been nothing short of transformative, both for the girls and for myself. My…
MukkaMaar ka jo kaam hain wo pura professional hain. Mujhe MukkaMaar se bahut kuch sikhne mila, jaise ki computer skills, professionalism, how to control our anger issue, how to handle different type of situations in schools and how to handle…
Self-defense isn’t just about punches and kicks, it’s about believing in yourself, trusting your gut, and knowing you can be strong! In Mukkamaar there is no need for proper formal graduation which allowed me to become a part of them…
Sharmane wali ladki ab bindas girl ban gayi hai. Fellowship mein aake mere life ko dekhne ka nazariya badal gaya hai. Before MukkaMaar main aisa sochti thi ki main ye sab nahi kar paungi. Kaise soch sakte hai, equality bhi…
My journey started in MukkaMaar initially just as a way to gain experience as it was my first job. However, it turned out to be very different from the way I thought it would be. Managers and Fellows over here…
नाम शांती…पर जीवन में बिलकुल शांति नहीं थी…लाईफ की पूरी लगी पड़ी थी…जिंदगी कहा जा रही थी, कौन से रास्ते से जा रही है कुछ समझ नहीं आ रहा था। 9 से 5 वाला जॉब था…पैसे मिल रहे थे…भागादौड़ी भी…
My journey with MukkaMaar is almost 4 years old. In these four years, I have seen a lot of changes in myself, as well as in my children. There is a change in my thought process, I realised that I…
“I am just living my life and living the dream I had dreamt of through MukkaMaar. The first 2 months of the Fellowship Development Program (FDP) have taught me to live my life the way I wanted and the next…
This year was a rollercoaster of emotions and gaining mental strength alongside a wonderful journey of growth for me. Because of past experience, it was too hard for me to share my workspace with my fellow partner at school. Woh…
“If I speak, my happy place is being with the girls in school. I was a little lonely on this journey, but later on, I felt that if I was alone, so what, all these girls are with me.” I…
No matter how well trained, coordinated, or cautious one learns to be, nothing quite prepares you for a situation better than life itself. For a brief moment when someone encounters their privacy being violated, they freeze. The training and practice…
Resilience, grit, and a smile help people to not only overcome their personal tragedies, but also give the world the gift of hope.
Image : 3 Idiots In the Hindi picture ‘3 Idiots’, the lead character Rancho mouths an oft-repeated dialogue – ‘All is well…’ as a response to problems faced by him and his friends. The logic stems from the understanding that…
Image- DNA The world battles a pandemic. India battles a pandemic and an epidemic. What is the epidemic one might ask? Violence – against minorities, women and Dalits. Unlike the pandemic, this is an epidemic that is perennial and one…
(Image source- https://youthincmag.com/) We’ve often heard complaints about the rise of so called “stars” or popular figures whose popularity doesn’t seem justified or even appropriate. We’ve discussed them in coffee shops, over dinners and amongst groups; wondering how and when…
This is such a happy picture. Pretty faces and such confident smiles. Such selfless love, A bit of confusion also. 32 Nation builders is what I saw when I walked to their classroom. But this is not how the class…
“Patriarchy’s chief institution is the family; it Is both the mirror and a connection with the larger society; a patriarchal unit within a patriarchal whole” – Kate Middleton The above quote puts a lot into perspective. We practice what we…
This here is Saubhagya, one of our MukkaMaar trainers. He’s best known for being his easygoing, good natured self. Even in quarantine, when moods have been low, he’s been actively participating in our team meetings and has brought some fun…
Our founder, Ishita, recently struck up a conversation with the driver of a rickshaw she was in. Somehow, the conversation came around to children. “Aapke bacchein hain? (Do you have any children?)” she asked him. Happily, he responded, “Haan, do…
She walked home from school that sunny Saturday afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary, really; she thought about what she learned today and the homework her teachers had assigned her. Lost in her little world, she turned into the desolate…
This is Saba, one of our trainers. Today, she was late for our team meeting for the most interesting reason: “I was travelling in the local train today, when a man who looked to be in his 40s came a…
For the Women’s Day event, we really wished the parents would be more involved, and did multiple parent teacher meets. Less than 5% of the parents would turn up, but with constant persuasion, 200+ parents showed up on the event day, along with 500+ girls.
Post our child sexual abuse seminar in a school, a girl (12) was able to report the rape and abuse she had been facing for more than 6 months to the correct authorities, and the parent informed us and said she would like her daughter to learn self-defence as long as we teach.
*Name changed
Nazma (32) and her daughter used to come to class in burkhas, without telling her family who were dead against girls going out of the house. Nazma herself had to quit her job after marriage. When her daughter won a District Gold medal, Nazma’s family changed their stance and Nazma even did school tie-ups for MukkaMaar as a project co-ordinator.
Periods are always a tricky matter to tackle. We cover the topic even in our teacher’s trainings to equip our faculty to deal with it, since ours is a physical class. We are proud to say that girls in Municipal schools have walked up to our male instructors, and told them they had periods at the time of class.
The dress-code for the competitions, is shorts and t-shirt, which resulted in a huge backlash. We overcame that hurdle through talks and have never looked back. The girls in Versova have been going for competitions for 2 years now, and last time, even came back to the slum in shorts.
Soni (14), after 1 year of training informed us that she has 3 of her own students, who she trains in a park. We now have recruited her as a teacher assistant with a stipend, during the vacations.
