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
Greeting to all, I am Jugal.P.Javadia graduated from K.P.B Hinduja College of Commerce as Bachelor of Accounting and Finance Student. No one has ever become poor by giving. Donors don’t give to institutions they invest in ideas and people in whom they believe. In good times and bad, we know that people give because you meet needs, not because you have needs.
Since time immemorial, these Indian women, like most women until fairly recent times, had no access to sanitary pads or napkins. Women commonly used discarded rags, which sometimes led to health problems, and often had to walk far outside the village to attend to themselves away from the prying eyes of men.
Girls just beginning to menstruate would miss school or drop out entirely from shame and disgrace, often having no prior clue that this natural biological phenomenon—neither an illness nor a disease—would become a regular, though badly understood features of their lives. At that age, many men figured, girls were old enough to rape or marry. In many cultures, in a version of the “blood libel,” women were not permitted at any time to enter holy places or handle sacred books for fear of contaminating them, turning into a vast caste of untouchables. Ironically, in India, many of the temples which they could not enter were dedicated to female deities.
When a sanitary pad machine is installed in the village, the women learn to manufacture and market their own pads, empowering the women financially as workers and as a sales force, and also in terms of self-confidence. Their growing independence garners them a new level of respect from the men of their community, and the taboo on mentioning a woman’s period is disappearing. They name their brand “FLY” because they want women to soar. The pads are 99 percent biodegradable.
In order to overcome this problem of Mensuration in a country like India, I myself have joined hands with NGO IDF based in Mumbai to enhance the Crowd fundraising campaign for poor school-going girls coming from poor families by providing them Sanitary Pads, Under Garments, Hygiene Kits etc which will help them feel safe in overcoming the problem of Mensuration.
Cost is INR 500 for each Kit for each Girl per year. I am raising INR 5000 to help impact 10 girls.
So please do Contribute some amount in order to help these girls gain Independence and Respect in our Society.
Eventually, we hope, the stigma surrounding menstruation can be eliminated everywhere.
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
