Missy Franklin announced via Instagram Monday that she is joining the board of Yuwa, a youth sports program in Jharkhand, India, for at-risk young girls.
Franklin learned about the program at last year’s Laureus World Sports Awards, where Yuwa won the Sport for Good Award.
“Today is a very special day. I get to officially announce that I have been asked to be on the Board for YUWA, a program in Jharkhand, India that uses team sports and education to break the cycle of childhood marriage for young girls. …
“YUWA is truly making a difference in the lives of these determined, brilliant, and motivated young girls. I am SO honored to be even a small part of this unbelievable program. Our immediate goal is to raise money to build a permanent campus for the young women out there, and Hayes and I cannot wait to actually get out there ourselves (when it’s safe to travel, etc.)”
Yuwa was founded in 2009 by American Franz Gastler, named for the Hindi word for “youth”. It added the Yuwa School in 2015 for girls age 6-18. It uses sports to reach girls from impoverished rural families who are at risk of child marriage and human trafficking. Using team sports – including a soccer program comprising 300 girls, with young women coaching 90 percent of teams – Yuwa helps girls grow in confidence and character while getting an education.
It’s the latest sports-related venture from Franklin, who retired after the 2016 Olympics with five Olympic gold medals. Franklin married former Texas swimmer Hayes Johnson last September. In her post-swimming life, she’s remained engaged in physical pursuits (in addition to becoming an author), from a quarantine partnership with UCHealth in her native Colorado to promote at-home exercises for swimmers to her at-home Peloton workouts to becoming a barre instructor with Pure Barre.