Gifting Drive IV - World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019
In continuation of our efforts to make hygienic sanitary essentials accessible to those less privileged than us, as part of our Gift a Pack of Pads! campaign, we conducted Round 4 of our Gifting Drive on Friday, 12th July.
This campaign was initiated to celebrate World Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls on 28th May of every year. The objective of this campaign is to enable girls in need with clean and sanitary means of managing their period. We aim to do this by weaning them off old rags and cloth, which they currently use as absorbents, and introduce them to sanitary pads.
We invited Dr. Shweta Attarwala to address students of Class 8 and Class 9 of a school run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. She spoke to them about the Biology behind Menstruation, which helped them understand that periods aren't something to be shy or ashamed of.
Dr. Shweta also spoke to the students about how to maintain hygiene and cleanliness during menstruation. We addressed their queries on how to wear a pad, breaking stereotypes and overcoming stigma. Some of their queries were -
- does one stop growing after she gets her period?
- should fathers and brothers not be told about your period?
- does washing your hair every day reduce period pain?
After discussing the root of these beliefs with them, we helped them dispel these beliefs. We then gifted all the students a month's supply of sanitary napkins, glucose biscuits, and sanitary pad disposal covers by Svacch. The children were overjoyed to receive all these products, and promised us that they would take care of their health and maintain hygiene during their period.
You can read about our previous gifting drives here and here. We will be conducting the next few rounds of the Gifting Drive in the months of July and August.
If you wish to contribute to the 'Gift a Pack of Pads!' campaign, click here.
If you wish to know more about The Pink Box and gift yourself, or somebody you love, a worry-free period, click here!
