After finishing the YPI programme in 2018, Ritika joined the community netball club. She shares that she used to be very shy and could not even order while buying food. She is still a shy person but now confident enough to do and ask things for herself. The netball club is a safe space for Ritika where, for the first time in her life, she started to share her feelings. She began talking about her problems with her peers in the club. The coaches are very kind and make sure that every child is safe. ‘We players know that even if we are not comfortable sharing our problems with our coaches or if something bad happens with us in schools or anywhere else, we can talk to a ‘Saathi’ (participant who is a child protection observer) or put a note in the ‘Saathi’ (incident reporting) box. A lot of times people come to the ground and invade our space. We always come up for our right to use the ground when it’s our time to play. Our coaches always stand by us’. She says that, ‘A lot of times when we play, men sit around the playing ground and watch us playing. Didi (coach) always makes sure that they don’t click our pictures when we’re playing’.
Netball has played a significant role in Ritika’s life. She has played several tournaments within and outside Naz. It has made her comfortable in playing with others and playing when boys are watching. She also shares, ‘Netball has made me believe in myself and has built sportsmanship in me. It has made me believe that I can do anything’.