Dilmili and Jaibel villages in Bastar District of Chhattisgarh are home to the Gondu tribe, one of the most marginalized communities, with limited access to basic health care services and knowledge about health. Owing to the lack of knowledge and access, women in these villages follow unsafe menstrual practices which add to their already reduced health status, along with further complications.
According to initial need assessment by our implementation partner, Saphala Mahila Foundation (SMF), tribal women and adolescent girls are using unhygienic cloth during menstruation in Dilmili & Jaibel villages. Due to abject poverty, 70-80% of women and adolescent girls cannot afford sanitary pads. The villages are also entrenched in societal taboos, and menstruating women are often made to stay in a makeshift hut built outside their houses.
The stigma around menstruation, poor sanitation facilities and hygienic practices coupled with financial instability stemming from their dependence on collection of forest resources have resulted in frequent occurrences of illness in these villages, as well as depriving girls of regular education.
“Some of the young women and adolescent girls use pieces of cloth that are neither properly washed nor sun-dried. Young girls are conditioned to be embarrassed of menstruation, as a result, they usually hide their menstrual cloth pieces under other clothes to dry, increasing the chances of infection. It is important to provide these young women with a healthier, sustainable option and to inculcate safe practices of using sustainable cloth pads to ensure their sexual and reproductive health and a positive health status for the community” says Meena, an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) at Jaibel village.
To create awareness on safe menstrual practices, INDIAdonates & SMF plan to distribute reusable sanitary napkins among 450 adolescent girls and young-adult women in the two villages in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. These reusable sanitary napkins, produced by the implementation partner, SMF, are close in nature to the makeshift cloth pads the women are accustomed to and at the same time are hygienic, easy to use, durable, cost-effective and environment friendly. Directions for using and washing tips with all safety measures, in local language, will be mentioned in the packet.
Women community leaders and community health workers like ASHA workers will be mobilized to distribute these sanitary napkins, and orient the women and adolescents on safe, sanitary and hygienic ways of using cloth-napkins focusing on how to wash and dry it to avoid health hazards. The project will reach out to 225 adolescent girls and young women in each of these two villages.
The project will contribute to improved health status of the adolescents and women in villages of Bastar, Chhattisgarh by creating awareness on how to safely use cloth napkins.
Your contribution of Rs.425 can make safe and healthy menstrual practices accessible to one marginalized young woman for years.
| Particular | Unit Cost (INR) | Unit | Total Amount |
| Production Cost of Sanitary Kits | 350 | 450 Kits | 157500 |
| Cost for Instruction Manual | 35 | 450 Kits | 15750 |
| Transportation from Production Facility to Remote Villages | 3,500 | 2 Villages | 7000 |
| Co-ordination Cost | 600 | 2 Villages | 1200 |
| Honorarium and Travel Expenses for Local Project Staff | 4,900 | 2 Villages | 9800 |
| Total | 191250 |
Indiadonates is a tax exempt entity, and all donations made through Indiadonates will be tax-exempt under Section 80G of Income Tax Act.
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Saphala Mahila Foundation
Majority of the women in India continue to live in vulnerable situations. They are prone to atrocities, deprived of education and skill training which is the basis for the individual's growth as well as the nation's economic growth. Not all of t h e m h ave a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e m p o w e r themselves and exhibit thei...read more
You can help make safe and healthy menstrual practices accessible to one marginalized young woman for years.
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