Menstrual Hygiene Kits for 1300 orphan girls,India

With the dynamically changing times, women have left no stone unturned. Gone are the days when women could only do certain types of jobs. In today’s day and age, many women are exploring different career avenues. Women are no longer interested in doing a mundane 9-5 job that will please her family.

Children especially girls living in these child care homes have very limited or no exposure to outside world. Our major focus while we are working with them is to make them aware about the opportunities they have and give them confidence to achieve their dreams. But due to lack of exposure and guidance things seem very difficult and far beyond their reach for them. While the world is fighting the global Pandemic many of them are struggling with their daily fights too.

In India, due to Government norms, once children turn 18, they have to move out of the Child Care Homes and manage on their own in this cruel competitive world. Many of these children find their shelter in Aftercare homes which are either government supported or supported by not profits. Catalysts for Social Action works with many of these Aftercare homes and provides guidance and support - financially, physically and mentally and help them pursue their dreams. In one such Aftercare home in Mumbai with the help of our Corporate Partner, we organised a Menstrual Hygiene session with a Gynaecologist and covered various topics from basic menstruation process, cervical cancer, breast cancer and usage of menstrual cups. These girls had a lot of questions on the usage of menstrual cups and were not sure if they could do this. The doctor cleared all their doubts and showed them practically with the help of a few fibre dummies that she had, the usage of cups. The girls were hesitant at first but the demo helped and 1 or 2 of them have started using cups now.

In this session they were also made aware of how the cups need to be hygienically kept and what should be done before and after usage. The doctor made sure all the doubts were cleared and ensured that the girls could call her anytime for any guidance that they need.

While in some cities like Mumbai, sessions like these take place; in some other rural places in India, girls are still not aware of the existence of Sanitary Napkins.

We still have many girls at CCIs who are yet to be prepared. In one such girl’s home, we partnered with Bajaj Capital and conducted a hygiene session with a Gynaecologist. It was an informative session where the girls and the Gynaecologist interacted covering important topics like menstrual hygiene and awareness on cervical cancer.