The Butterfly Effect: Durga's Story

A large group from The Butterfly Effect in a hall in Bihar, many raising a strong arm to the camera, Camilla Franks among them.

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Durga was part of the first cohort of The Hunger Project's Adolescent Girls Program in 2016. In this safe space, she began to understand that her future could be shaped by her own choices.

For Durga, that meant continuing her education and questioning discrimination within her own family. Relatives and other members of her community believe in the caste system, which she has bravely challenged. Today, she runs a small tailoring centre and trains other girls — carrying forward the belief that studying, equality and self-reliance can change what comes next.

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In Her Words

“Just stepping out of the house to attend this program was the hardest. I was stopped from going again and again. I managed to find ways, but there was always the fear that someone might say something and I would be found out. I’ve learned so much from the group — I've come to realise that as a girl, I too can achieve something… and make something of myself.

Focusing on education is essential. I learned about the importance of education and the need to eliminate discrimination. We have been able to address the discrimination that used to happen — specifically the stigma of belonging to a ‘lower’ caste. The belief was that if someone belonged to a ‘lower’ caste, they had to sit on the ground while speaking. They could not converse as equals.

My grandmother would say: ‘Make friends with her outside. Whatever friendship you want, keep it outside, but she is not to come into the house.’

Camilla Franks, Founder and Creative Director, smiles beside a girl in a pink tunic from The Hunger Project's Adolescent Girls Program.

The program has made us aware that we are all equal. We can sit together, share meals, we can do everything together. We are all brothers and sisters.

I have gained the right to equality. When my family faced financial hardship, I learned to work hard on my own, including teaching children. I took up tailoring work and funded my education through my own earnings. I balanced my studies with tailoring work, and I have since resumed my education. Even today, I continue to study and work hard.

They made me see the dangers of child marriage and understand it would mean a life of servitude within four walls. So I worked hard — I took on sewing work and combined this with studying. Before, I wouldn’t have dreamed I could do these things. Now, graduates of the club have developed the ability to make decisions. We have become self-aware and we can make our own choices. They taught me how to live my life. About freedom through learning, health, and self-reliance. I have received so much.

I am very proud that I am a member of the program, my education continues, and I have been given the right to equality.

Anything can be gained with hard work. My life would have remained confined within the four walls of domestic life. My dream, now, is that I want to become a doctor. If I put in the effort, it will happen. Through hard work, you can achieve anything. The Hunger Project's Adolescent Girls Program helped me believe everyone should have opportunities and be able to do something good with their life.”

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