Donate a sanitary pad, donate freedom, donate education.

A 2014 report by the NGO Dasra titled Spot On! found that nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually due to lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities, which include the availability of sanitary napkins and logical awareness of menstruation. A 2014 UNICEF report pointed out that in Tamil Nadu, 79 per cent girls and women were unaware of menstrual hygiene practices. The percentage was 66% in Uttar Pradesh, 56% in Rajasthan and 51% in West Bengal.

Lack of awareness makes for a major problem in India’s menstrual hygiene scenario. Indian Council for Medical Research’s 2011-12 report stated that only 38 percent menstruating girls in India spoke to their mothers about menstruation.

Many mothers were themselves unaware of what menstruation was, how it was to be explained to a teenager and what practices could be considered as menstrual hygiene management. Schools were not very helpful either as schools in rural areas refrained from discussing menstrual hygiene.

A 2015 survey by the Ministry of Education found that in 63% schools in villages, teachers never discussed menstruation and how to deal with it in a hygienic manner.

Only 2 to 3 percent women in rural India are estimated to use sanitary napkins. The lack of demand results in storekeepers not stocking up on sanitary pads. This results in women resorting to unhygienic practices during their menstrual cycle, such as filling up old socks with sand and tying them around waists to absorb menstrual blood, or taking up old pieces of cloth and using them to absorb blood. Such methods increase the chances of infection and hinder the day-to-day task of a woman on her period. Washing reusable feminine products with soap and drying them in sunlight may be difficult due to lack of water, private facilities, and cultural taboos associated with menstruation.

Beneficiary NGOs:

 

1) Voice of Slum: 

This NGO’s mission is to assimilate street children into mainstream society by providing them with quality education,  exposure, and access to opportunities. The NGO is run by those born in slums(Dev Pratap and Chandni Khan), who have been through it all. They now want to help other slum kids have a better life.

 

Where is Voice of Slum located? 

House number; 78/3, Gali Number; 3, Village chhalera, Near chhalera bus stand, Dadri Road. Near Garg Medical Store. Noida, Sector 44. Uttar Pradesh - 201301; India

 

2)Child Help Foundation: 

Child Help Foundation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping neglected and needy children. They work towards projects like - basic education for children, healthcare, intervention etc. They also actively help in disaster rescue and relief operations across the country. 

 

Where is Child Help Foundation located?

4/F1, 35, Court Chambers, Near SNDT Women College, New Marine Line, Mumbai - 400020.

 

3)Mrida:

Mrida Education and Welfare Society was founded in April 2016 by alumni of the Indian School of Business Hyderabad, St. Xavier's College Mumbai, XIM Bhubaneswar and Hindu College. Their vision is to work intensely and holistically with children belonging to Gond and Baiga tribes in the tribal hinterland of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh.

 

Where is Mrida located?

Mrida Pradan Datt Bangalow - 13, Near Ice Factory Mandla Road, Tilhari, Jabalpur (MP) - 482020