To be born a girl in Jharkhand, an Indian state about 700 miles southeast of New Delhi, often is to be sentenced to a life of poverty, illiteracy and violence. So when Franz Gastler, an American working as an English teacher in a Jharkhand village, was approached by a group of local girls who wanted him to coach their soccer team, he agreed, despite having no experience playing the sport. He started holding soccer practices -- as well as extracurricular classes in English -- before and after the girls' regular school day. The program, which started in 2009, was named Yuwa, derived from the Hindi word yuva for "youth." Participants would wake up at 4 a.m., attend a class, go to school, return home to work for their families, attend soccer practice and complete their homework. All in a single day.
