Girls Glory - Improve Menstrual Health in India

Greetings from REACHING HAND!

Entering into the second month of the year 2019 and Reaching Hand ’Girls Glory' program has been progressing extremely well with more corporate vouching the program in other Government Schools owing to the quality of work and impact on the beneficiaries. |We are extremely thankful to you for your generous contribution and supporting us in our journey. You have been the unseen strength and motivation behind out Girls Glory - (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)) program

Highlights of the Past Quarter- REACHING HAND impacted over 6,405 students

- 43 new toilets were constructed in 18 schools benefiting 2,761 adolescent girls

-3 RO Water filters installed will provide safe drinking water to 1097 students

-MHM workshops were conducted in 12 schools and WASH(Health & Hygiene) workshops were conducted in 15 schools benefiting over 5,271 students.

-36 toilets were renovated in 17 schools benefiting 3,644 boys.

-Maintenance of 28 previously constructed toilets of schools was also monitored and immediate repair works were catered to in the last 3 months.

-Parents Teachers meetings were conducted in 54 schools to understand and enhance the importance of parents influence in educating the child.

Hear from a student beneficiary- Rajeshwari Gujjar is a student of 8^th grade in GMPS Doddagollarahatti. Rajeshwari is shy and introvert by nature. She seldom takes part in sensitive topic discussions. Reaching Hand team took a session on ‘Menstrual Hygiene Management’ on 7^th December, 2018 for the female students of her class.

Rajeshwari says, “I was feeling very embarrassed initially. Further into the session valuable information was shared about ‘Menstrual Management & Hygiene’ that made me ponder about the current taboos associated with Periods. I voluntarily discussed about the silly beliefs and practices followed form generations in my community. We girls fear menstrual cramps more than anything. The RH team educated us on how to make the pain bearable so that we can come to school on those days too.”

Moving Ahead- As we move forward we are determined to break more such Taboos associated with Menstrual Management and Hygiene and create awareness about the best practices during the monthly periods. We also continue to built toilets for adolescent girls, empower and educate them about the importance of not missing classes.

We are very thankful for your continuous support and look forward to the same through our journey ahead.