Support for menstrual health for girls in India

“Menstruation is a Shhhh Shhhh topic in our society, we often hide it. Girls and women shy away and are even discouraged to talk about it openly…”

Menstruation is a normal biological process and a key sign of reproductive health. Yet many women and girls suffer by being ostracized from families, communities and schools when they have their periods. They start losing their self-confidence and surround with lots of queries related with their periods. Menstruation is a Shhhh Shhhh topic in our society, we often hide it. Girls and women shy away and are even discouraged to talk about it openly. This leads to a lack of information and awareness about several aspects of this normal and important functionary of females’ life.

Improper and inappropriate knowledge often can lead to menstrual disorder among young girls and women that is the reason why normalizing period talk is important and much needed.

IDF team keen to spread awareness and normalize the conversation around the menstrual hygiene and well- being. We regular interact with the adolescent girls and women from different schools and communities to spread awareness towards female reproductive health and importance of hygiene during menstruation.

On average four awareness workshops in a month have being organized and distribute menstrual hygiene products.  We appreciate for your commitment and support for this project, that helping us to change the lives of many girls and women in India.

Thanks you so much for your support!

Regards,

Team IDF

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Indian Dreams Foundation!

We are pleased to come up with the progress of menstrual awareness project. 

IDF recently conducted an awareness workshop on menstrual hygiene management at an urban slum in Agra city. Despite, the chilling wintry weather more than 120 woman and girls enthusiastically participated in the session which displayed their enthusiasm to live a happy life. As it was our first interactive session with these girls and women, so they were equipped with all the introductory information regarding menstruation and period hygiene. They were told that menstruation is a normal process in a female's life, and is extremely vital for her well-being. We further educated the girls on puberty, proper hygiene management to be followed during the menstrual cycle like regular bathing and washing the genitals, using a clean sanitary napkin and changing it after every 4-5 hours to avoid any infection or leakage and about washing hands before and after changing the towels etc. Also, we made the girls aware of the age-old myths regarding menstruation and that they should not follow them at all.

We ensured the girls that IDF is always available to help them deal with their menstrual woes and we also distributed hygiene kits to all the participants free of cost for helping them in safe menstrual hygiene management. All the girls actively participated in the session.

A girl named ‘Nirja' (changed name) of 18 years of age, enquired about the safety of consuming painkillers in the case of painful menstruation whereas another girl named ‘Pooja' (changed name) was curious about the proper procedure of calculating the exact date of their expected periods. Our team resolved their queries and encouraged them to follow a routine during menstruation. It was pleasing to observe the girls' confidence in living a healthy and cheerful life.

Many thanks again for your support!

 We will continue to keep you updated about our work and events.

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(Dear well-wishers, you may give us points between 1 to 10 to the extent of your satisfaction with our performance. We will be glad to get your response) 


Regards,
Team IDF