By Autumn Eastman | Project Coordinator
In the last two weeks, Aarogya Seva has begun procuring and distributing sanitary napkins to various non-profit organizations affiliated with communities who are in need of menstrual products. A total of 19,400 packs of pads have been disseminated, which will reach roughly 4,850 women in the next few weeks as distribution takes place in Bangalore, India.
A closer look at some of our recipients in India:
Similar to the current state of affairs globally, COVID-19 has caused a majority of establishments to shut down in India, leaving many individuals jobless and in a precarious predicament. The populations in India most affected by the cease of business operations are migrant laborers and daily wage earners who have traveled from their home in seek of the opportunity for work in other areas. Migrant workers account for roughly 30% of India’s population and the roughly 100 million migrant workers are responsible for 10% of India’s GDP.
Our first distribution was made to Sampark, an organization that is tirelessly combatting the challenging effects of COVID on migrant colony populations, daily wage earners and rural women and children. So far, Sampark has distributed over 6,800 grocery kits, and reached out to over 25,000 daily wage earners. Similarly, a volunteer help group called She Warriors in association with the Department of Information and Public Relations of India has been spreading food ration kits to slum areas and migrant laborers. Along with giving sanitary napkins, both organizations conduct menstrual hygiene awareness sessions whereby women are taught how and why menstruation occurs and how to practice safe hygiene while menstruating.
Thanks in part to your donation, Sampark has been given sanitary napkins to cater to 700 migrant workers in 40 different migrant colonies and She Warriors will be distributing to 500 women. As migrant workers and daily wage earners travel back to their homes or endure the current scenario, women will have the appropriate supplies to manage their periods!
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
