Support for menstrual health for girls in India

Dear Friends,

“Menstruation is a natural biological process which needs to be discussed openly. However, it is a matter of dignity”.

Indian Dreams Foundation is rigorously working to disseminate knowledge & education on Menstrual Hygiene Management through SMILEY DAYS PROJECT. 

We thank all stakeholders and well-wishers for their generous support and well wishes which motivate us to work dedicatedly in the areas of reproductive health & hygiene for the adolescent girls & women. 

We regularly conduct awareness workshops & counselling sessions with girls & women from the slums to motivate them to follow healthy & hygienic practices during menstruation.

Recently an Interaction Session on Menstrual Hygiene Management was held at Devri Road, Agra District, India. Approximately 110 adolescent girls and women from urban slums participated and shared their understanding of MHM.

During the interaction, various issues related to menstruation (including proper menstruation hygiene management) were discussed.  Senior women shared their old age mindsets towards menstruation that Menstruating women are treated as impure whether they take a bath or not. Family members do not like to eat food which is made by menstruating women.

Adolescent school girls said that we often call menstruation by different names so that no one understands we are talking about Menstruation. Few names are MC, Mahina, Down, Dates etc.

We were shocked when Smiley Days team asked the participants that who uses sanitary napkins on a regular basis? Among all the 110 participants only two girls raised their hands for using sanitary napkins during periods.  According to the participants’ responses, more than ninety-eight per cent girls and women use old clothes to manage their menstruation and sometimes create problems of infections in the form of itching, rashes, burns and smell etc.

Then the team motivated them to follow healthy & hygienic practices during menstruation whether they use old clothes or napkins. Before using the cloths, the cloths should be properly washed and dried in the sunlight. Smiley team also distributed sanitary napkins to all the participants and disseminated a message that Menstruation is a matter of dignity and symbol of good health, does not need to hide it and start discussing it. However, the massage of Smiley Days will reach in the broad masses.

Thank you so much for your continuous support.

Warm Regards,

Team IDF

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Indian Dreams Foundation!

In the last few months, IDF has collected some impact stories in the area of menstrual health & hygiene; 

Impact Stories from The Field - 

1. Nisha (Beneficiary)

Nisha is 15 years old very active, and currently, she is school dropout. Her father is an excessive alcoholic. He works as shoe labour and spends his all income in liquor. He does not co-operate his family. He is very irresponsible towards his duties. Nisha's family lives in awful condition even there was no facility of the toilet in her home.

A few months ago, Nisha said in heart broking voice “my mother and elder sisters had to go to the open field for morning call whether it was winter or summer days. During our menstruation time, we faced a lot of issues and shame to go outside.  Sometimes, we had to go in the open in the night too it was very terrible for us.”

Although she added, "There were no toilet facilities in my school. During period days, we did not have any option by just staying at home".  "I left my school because I was unable to appear in my final exams due to my periods and I became drop out in the eighth standard’.  

She informed us, "After attending Smiley Days – Menstrual health awareness, I realised the importance of hygiene for good health and I started to pressurize my father for built a toilet in the home. My sisters also supported me and finally, I won. Now, I have a toilet in my home, and I enjoy my periods with dignity".  

Nisha said that Smiley Days is such a great project that gives smiles to the girls that help to lead a healthy & happy life. 

2. Nikki (Beneficiary)

Nikki is 17 years old a single parent girl (Only father is alive). Her mother was expired when she was just six years old. Now she lives with her father and sister. She said, "When I got my first periods, I was alone; no one could tell me about the periods or what was happened to me or why I was bleeding? Many questions in my mind created disturbance and lose my confidence to do regular activities. I faced many challenges as I did not know what to do”.

She said, "My school teachers did not tell me about periods, as well as none of my friends knew about it. They just laughed by hiding their faces. I was puzzled. I stopped going outside and stayed at home for a few days. That was a tough time for me. I asked help to my cousin sister who gave me an old piece of cloth and gave me a nasty smell, and she pointed me to use it to soak the bleeding. Since then, I only used cloth because didn't know the other option".

Nikki said, "last year, I attended an awareness workshop that was organised by Smiley Days Project team in my community. I came to know about the scientific process of the menstruation and why it is important for every girl. The cloth that I was using is not hygienic and can create the severe problem in regular usage. I received a packet of sanitary pads during the workshop that is a life-changing solution for me. Now I started to aware the other girls/ neighbours about menstruation and advantages of using sanitary pads”.

We are rigorously working to achieve positive impact through Smiley Days program in the slums of Agra (India). We always need your support & motivation to achieve high impact in the large masses.

Thank you so much for your support & well- wishes.

Regards,

Team IDF