History created: India's first batch of women fighter pilots commissioned’, this was a big and welcoming news published in 2016. Two years later, in 2018, the women made it to the newspapers again and managed to pull out yet another ‘first’ from their bags by flying MiG-21 ‘Bison’, which has virtually the highest landing and takeoff speed in the world. As the country marked 71 years of Independence this year, a first all-female SWAT team was deployed in streets of Delhi. These women have been trained in Krav Maga, which is a form of martial arts.
Feats like this conjure up from a number of external and internal factors, external in the form of help and support, both from family and society and internal in the form of courage, confidence and skills. Even more everlasting and deeply touching is the fact that the difference is made not only in the lives of the few women who were mentioned in the papers but the impact is manifold and macro, in terms of the countless women whose lives rekindle with hope and desires.
There are a number of women in the world who are making special news in their daily lives by winning their own ‘fights with firsts’ and at the same time there are many women who need help and support to make their fights a success and their achievements a news.
‘Mission 1000’ is one such initiative which wants to empower underprivileged girls and support them to move ahead so that they can turn their chances into opportunities. It prepares them to not only take the first step but also to sustain the confidence and to enhance and grow further. This is made possible through integrated workshops, which teach Self-Defense, and also focus on core development through meditation, life-skill sessions and value-based lectures.
A girl who can stand up against bullying, another who can go out and confidently perform her chores, a girl who can now travel in public transport and continue to educate herself are all special. These are a few impacts made possible through the mission. Though their fights have just started and their firsts may sound naive but these are the turning points which create histories. Every story starts with a single word. ‘Mission 1000’ aims to impact at least a 1000 lives every year, it aims to reach out to 1000 girls, who gain confidence to teach their mothers, and thus, help spread the message of empowerment like fire.
Join the ‘Mission1000’, and help achieve a common goal – thousand lives, thousand transformations.
Ashpreet Dhillon
