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[caption id="attachment_39180" align="alignnone" width="580"] Australian cricketers with the girls at Yuwa, a NGO for young women in Ranchi. Image Source: instagram[/caption] Internet Desk: Australian cricketers on Tuesday visited Yuwa, an NGO based in Ranchi that provides a platform through team sport for young women to gain confidence to make a change in their world.  Aussie cricketers – Steven O’Keefe, Ashton Agar, Usman Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell spent time at the NGO. The players took time out from their preparations for the third Test, which begins on Thursday in Ranchi, to engage with some inspiring young girls who hail from Jharkhand – one of the poorest states of India, with some of the lowest rates of literacy and girls’ school attendance in the country. In Jharkhand, 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides, and thousands of girls are trafficked each year. The girls who are part of Yuwa are rewriting their script—and it all starts with sport and education. Australian players spent time in small groups hearing firsthand from the girls the challenges they have faced to get to where they are now with the help of Yuwa. All 81 students from the school then gathered to share their experiences in sport and how it has benefited them before engaging in some light-hearted competition between the players and the senior girls’ soccer team. The event was managed in partnership with the Australian High Commission in India. Yuwa works to empower girls by combatting child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking in Jharkhand. In Jharkhand, 6 out of 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides.  More than 9 out of 10 families in rural areas lack access to a toilet. Yuwa operates in Jharkhand and uses girls’ team sports as a platform for social development in rural India. Here, girls are rarely given a chance to choose their own future. But the girls of Yuwa are rewriting their script—and it all starts with sport. Founded in 2009, Yuwa is now one of the largest girls’ football programs in India, with 300 players practicing daily.  Over 600 girls have been members of Yuwa so far.  What makes Yuwa different? Yuwa is absolutely local, with absolute ownership by girls and it’s absolutely fun! Join the movement! Australian crickets squads undertake community work during each of their overseas tours.