Priyanka Chopra gets emotional while meeting UP girls fighting poverty to get an education

While visiting Uttar Pradesh as a UNICEF ambassador, Priyanka Chopra met some underprivileged girls fighting for their right to an education. On social media, she posted a video of the interaction.

Priyanka Chopra has returned to India after a nearly three-year absence. Her trip has included some work, as she launched a line of hair care products in Mumbai. The actor’s second leg of the journey was as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She traveled to rural Uttar Pradesh, where she met children suffering from poverty and a lack of education.

The video began with a montage of Priyanka comforting one of the girls during their interactions, followed by pictures of her with the kids. In the video, young girls told the actor about how they were denied education at a young age and had to fight society and, in some cases, their family members to attend school.

Priyanka became visibly emotional after hearing a story about a girl pressured to marry in her early teens.

Priyanka captioned the video with a lengthy note about her experience. “As you all know, I’m a firm believer in the power of education, but what I’ve seen here takes it to the next level,” she wrote, adding. One of the groups of teenagers I met didn’t get the chance to begin their education when they should have because they were girls. But their perseverance paid off, and at the ages of 12 and 14. They are now learning to read and write as part of the UNICEF-supported Adolescent Development and Empowerment (ADE) initiative. Which targets 10,000 such girls in the state.

“These teenagers, especially the girls,” Priyanka wrote, referring to how the girls’ strength and determination inspired her. The situations they have faced in their youth are difficult to comprehend. But they have picked themselves up and fought to break free from the cycle of poverty and abuse that has trapped them. I also witnessed the power of a sisterhood, specifically the Shakti Group. Where groups of girls come together to form the robust support system they require to grow and thrive.”