Background

The United Nations’ 2024 report on Sustainable Development Goals notes that a significant population of children (about 58%) across the world continues to be deprived of quality education and professional training. These problems are exacerbated due to a lack of structural support, such that children fail to imagine a life beyond their immediate socioeconomic context, and give up on their aspirations. Financial challenges, lack of educational infrastructure, social discrimination, and the absence of information and networking opportunities are some of the key issues that need to be addressed to ensure that all children, and especially the girls, are able to access professional growth through structured guidance. This is why access to informal peer mentorship, and extensive knowledge about diverse career paths is crucial to facilitate upward socioeconomic mobility amongst children by kindling in them professional aspirations, self-confidence, and critical and creative thinking skills.  However, school education can function to an extent in bringing about the change that these economically disadvantaged children need for their development. 

A professional mentorship program can provide additional support to these children in various ways. Mentorship programs also provide mentees with positive ideals to adopt essential life and social skills. In this context, international organizations like the UN have been working with the government of India to implement such mentorship plans that are relevant to the context of the underserved children, broad in its scope, accessible to the children, inclusive of their abilities and challenges, measurable in terms of impact, and transformative in its effect. Career guidance for adolescent girls who do not have access to quality career counseling channels is crucial to save the young minds from falling into self-doubt or societal pressure emerging from gender-based and class-based discrimination. Adolescent girls surrounded by socioeconomic challenges would benefit greatly when provided with the right materials and interaction that would direct their attention towards their abilities, and help them to sieve the best opportunity for their future. 

The “LiveStream” project has been launched to form such a platform that would help adolescent girls understand their preference amongst different academic disciplines to discover their paths of transformation.