Date First Published: 16 August 2023
Date Modified: 23 June 2026
It was 2016 when Console Mission began seeing the needs of girls and boys in rural districts after the earthquake. From the start, health was our first priority — training on hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, and counseling. But as we worked with teenagers, we realized that Body Confidence and Self‑Protection Rights (BCSPR) were essential.
Children must know. NGOs were focusing awareness and training for teenage girls, but what about boys? If boys don’t learn, they are left behind. When males lack knowledge about their bodies, relationships, and protection rights, how can they support their spouse, sister, or mother? Girls often say, “My husband doesn’t understand me.” That gap in understanding is why BCSPR must include boys as well as girls.
One story from 2016 illustrates this: a girl in grade 8 stopped school and married at age 13. She had been selected for a scholarship, but cultural tradition — marriage after menstruation — pulled her out of education. Following her journey revealed the risks of early marriage, miscarriage, and unsafe relationships. Console Mission realized that training sessions at school were not enough. BCSPR must go deeper, addressing confidence, safeguarding, and resilience.
In villages like Bhattedanda and Nallu, we saw teenage mothers facing abandonment, unsafe migration, and trafficking risks. These realities showed us that BCSPR is not just about health — it is about dignity, resilience, and education continuity.
💡 Why BCSPR Matters
- Body Confidence: Helping adolescents understand their bodies, emotions, and dignity.
- Self‑Protection Rights: Safeguarding against exploitation, early marriage, and unsafe relationships.
- Educational Continuity: Keeping girls and boys in school by addressing hidden pressures like poverty, cultural norms, and unsafe migration.
🌍 Console Mission’s Commitment
From hygiene training to scholarships, from earthquake recovery to teenage safeguarding, we have learned that BCSPR is the missing link. It reframes reproductive health education into culturally resonant terms that empower both girls and boys.
Our vision is simple: Adolescents who are confident in their bodies and protected in their rights will stay in school, delay marriage, and build resilient futures.
The girl, Sabina, a mother, is living a challenging life but she is with her husband together. But another might be in a situation that surely after some time she will take important decision. CM needs to visit her and find out about her situation.
At study centre, children learn to develop hygienic habits like cutting nail in time, taking bath, brushing teeth and taking essential medicine in time. (Photo: Year 2022, Nayagaon village, by local volunteer Ram)
Namrata handing coaching fee for student of grade 9 Kabita. When the girl in story, her name is Deepika got married, Kabita said that everyone is gossiping about her. Gossiping was a new thing that happened after people started learning that getting married in teenage is not suitable. (Photo: Year 2021, Jhakridanda village, by office volunteer Sirjana)