Did you know that only 18% of women and girls in India have access to sanitary hygiene?
There is evidence to show that ignoring good menstrual hygiene is not only damaging for girls but also adversely affecting the educational, businesses and economic sectors of the country. Indian Development Foundation (IDF), an NGO based in Mumbai aims to contribute to the all-round development of the children in schools across Mumbai and India.
IDF aims to reach 100,000 students in India by 2020 with the provision of sanitary pads, undergarments, hygiene products and awareness generation on personal hygiene. IDF aims to address this issue by educating young girls about menstrual health and well-being by spreading awareness and by making hygiene products like sanitary napkins more accessible to them. Girls from poor homes going to the school are trained and advised to use and properly dispose-off these sanitary napkins
By informing them about the strong connection between hygiene and health, and educate them on best practices to adopt using hygiene products like sanitary napkins, we shall be able to reduce a lot of hygiene and health-related problems among the women population.
The cost of supplying a years supply of low-cost sanitary napkins, 4 sets of undergarments etc to one girl is just INR 500. The kit is shown below.
The pic above shows a kit that contains 32 sanitary pads, 4 sets of undergarments, 1 towel and 2 soaps. The total pads given will be 128 nos ( Pack of 8 pads *16 nos). Girls will also be taught about hygiene and best practices. The sanitary pads are given to them in two lots as the entire set will be too big for them to store at home.
Read on to discover how I am doing this campaign in partnership with IDF. My aim is to raise INR 15000 or more to provide sanitary napkins to 30 girls studying at schools from poor homes and to underprivileged young girls in govt schools in the city of Mumbai.
HELP ME RAISE INR 15000 TO PROVIDE A YEARS SUPPLY OF SANITARY NAPKINS, UNDERGARMENTS ETC TO 30 GIRLS.
COLLAGE - PICTURE OF STUDENTS BEING GIVEN PADS
ABOUT ME & THIS CAMPAIGN:
Greetings to all, I am Dhruvesh Shah, a fourth-year engineering student studying in Nmims. Love and kindness are never wasted, they always make a difference, blessing the one who receives them and also blesses you. Even after the numerous efforts of breaking the taboo regarding the topic ‘menstruation’, making a public appearance in courtrooms and classrooms alike, trying to break the stigma around menstrual hygiene, people still refrain from talking about it.
Look around yourself? What do you see? Do you have a clean surrounding? Clean clothes to wear? Are all your basic hygiene necessities fulfilled? I am asking you this because I want you to realize how privileged we are. Yes, I know it’s not a big deal for anyone to have all these boxes ticked right? I would like to enlighten you by the fact that it’s not the case. According to The Times of India, only 18% of women have access to sanitary hygiene. Yes, you read that right, only 18%! This fact has disturbed me at all levels and I decided to do something about it.
Therefore, I am running a crowdfunding campaign to help create awareness and raise funds to support school-going girls from poor homes with a year’s supply of sanitary pads, 4 undergarments, and hygiene kits, which costs a total of 500 INR for each girl. This is being done in partnership with an NGO called IDF based out of Mumbai.
HOW WILL THE MONEY BE USED?
For this campaign, we have partnered with an NGO who will execute this project. It’s called Indian Development Foundation (IDF) and is headquartered at Goregaon(W) Mumbai. The monies collected will be given to them once the campaign ends. Since they are an NGO, any donation will be eligible for an 80G tax receipt. The money would be utilized to purchase and provide the girls with the sanitary napkins & hygiene kits.
Every donation counts, let’s all do this not for us, but for them. For those girls who need it and for our nation which we wish to see flourish because they are the future of India.
TAX BENEFITS
All funding for this campaign has tax benefits. Receipts will be issued by IDF which is a registered NGO. Indian citizens can avail of 80G tax benefits. Foreign funding is accepted too.
MAP SHOWING LOCATION WHERE WILL THE FUNDS BE USED & PARTNER LOCATION.
ABOUT IDF
IDF focusses on a wide variety of initiatives as an NGO. The project which I am supporting is part of the Dignity Project-Health and Sanitation campaign that aims to empower adolescent girls.
IDF overarching aim is to contribute to the all round development of the children in its Bal Gurukuls and schools associated with Bal Gurukuls across the country in cities, towns and far fledged places making the reach easier. To tackle the problem of menstrual hygiene management in girls IDF’s Dignity Project-Health Sanitation campaign addresses the following concerns in India.
ABOUT DIGNITY PROJECT-HEALTH SANITATION CAMPAIGN
It supports underprivileged girls studying at BMC schools in Mumbai by providing them with Sanitary Napkins.
All it takes is Rs.500/- to support one girl's personal hygiene for the whole year, predominantly underprivileged girls aged 12 and above.
SCHOOLS WHERE IDF PLANS TO DISTRIBUTE KITS
FAQs
Will we get to know the details on how the money was spent?
Yes. After the money has been collected it will be transferred by Fueladream to IDF. It will take from 30 to 90 days after that to get details of who the beneficiary was with details of them. Once I get this information from them I shall upload a group picture of the girls who were provided with the kit on the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert & can read details about the beneficiaries.
When do I get the receipts?
It takes up to 2-3 weeks after the campaign is closed for the monies to be transferred to NGO. The receipts will start getting processed about 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept & is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an Idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds. You can fund innovations & ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding. When you fund a charity it’s more like a donation & you get small innovative rewards like a shout-out on an FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries
