Menstrual Hygiene Kits for 1300 orphan girls,India

Recently CSA adopted a new home in interior parts of Mumbai. It is an all-girls home with girls aged between 9 to 16 years. As part of our Adopt a Home project the first initiative that we do with these children is a Health Check-up Camp and Hygiene Kit supply. These children underwent a health check-up first time in their life and experienced many new things and some do’s & don’ts. One of the most important aspects of this health check-up camp is Menstrual Hygiene. Around 55% of the girls in this home have hit their puberty and many were unaware about menstruation as a concept.

CSA staff along with the Doctor made them aware about menstruation, menstrual hygiene made them understand the concept of sanitary napkins, their usage etc.

Many of these girls are not fortunate enough to have this guidance from the care takers of the home. One of the most commonly asked question by the girls was How to tackle the period cramps?

The doctor present during the health check-up camp guided them with some home remedies to tackle the period cramps and also suggested a few super foods that they can indulge in.

During this session, we realised that many girls at the institute were shy and could not talk openly about their periods because until now they were not encouraged to discuss this topic with the Child Care Institute Staff. What we made them aware was that menstruation is not a taboo and a very normal bodily act that happens to every girl once they hit their puberty and that everything is very normal about it and there is no harm in openly asking questions related to their periods. Frequent visits and a few sessions with the lady doctor will help girls gain some confidence and they will start opening up about their Challenges with menstruation.