Celebrating Menstrual Hygiene Day
Khushbu and her mother in front of the IHHL constructed in their house.
Khushbu and her mother in front of the IHHL constructed in their house.
Khushbu playing with her classmates.
Sanitary block constructed in M.S.Basantpatti.
One Drop has been working in collaboration with the Centre of Microfinance and Tata Trusts on menstruation awareness initiatives in India, with the goal of improving the menstrual health of women in four clusters of South Rajasthan. Our initiatives aim to spread awareness around Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), break people’s silence on the issue, and provide the clusters’ citizens with sustainable and equitable access to appropriate MHM products.
Our program now covers 100 villages from 3 clusters in 2 districts of Rajasthan, and aims to reach 12,000 women, 6,000 teen girls, and 1,500 teen boys.
Two of the clusters where our initiatives are active are joining together to organise a Menstrual Hygiene Management Mela (fair) to celebrate the Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2019! Pindwara and Swaroopganj clusters are jointly organising this fair to provide a single-location platform for MHM-based education, awareness, and entertainment events.
The major activities they’ve planned include:
- Health check-ups: A team of doctors/health practitioners will check blood pressure, anemia, general health issues, problems related to menstruation, etc.
- Information kiosks: Government departments such as Health, ICDS (nutrition), Family and Child Welfare and various NGO partners will be invited to set up information kiosks for their programs and displays.
- Fun & entertainment: Games and activities will be on hand for participants, including art zones, sack races, lemon-and-spoon races, matka todo, rangoli, and quiz competitions.
- Street theatre/Film screening: A section of the fair will be devoted to street theatre performances and film projections on MHM related issues.
- Product kiosks: Kiosks will also be set up to provide information about the variety of MHM products available in the market, and to purchase MHM products on-site.
Organisers from Pindwara and Swaroopganj clusters plan to invite 500 community women and teen girls to celebrate the day together, as well as government department officials, PRI members and other important stakeholders.
Multiple benefits from the MHM program in Rajasthan
One Drop’s MHM initiatives create awareness around menstruation among communities that were previously very reluctant to talk about menstruation, genitals, or menstrual flow, all the more so when talking to men.Thanks to our program in Rajasthan, more than 16,000 girls and women have been made aware about menstrual hygiene management and activities like MHM-centred couples counselling as well as our popular “Stitch your own pad” workshops have given a refreshing, creative dimension to the program. Our projects also create strong ties with state-run initiatives, with projects working in mutual support of one another.
Last update: May 28, 2019
