Adolescent Girls Are Ignored During COVID -19, Need Your Support

As part of Educo In India (Foundation for dignity, rights and wellbeing of children - DRAW), India’s COVID-19 relief and response interventions, the need for supporting Kishori’s have emerged as an important focus area. As part of our ongoing project with Kala Pandhari on ending child marriage, a joint material distribution initiative was undertaken in May 2020. Our project beneficiaries in Latur and Beed districts of Maharashtra were given supplies of dry groceries, soap, detergent and sanitizer. Since then, interactions with the Kishori's participating in our project have highlighted a growing need for a different kind of intervention. This time the focus is on helping Kishori for their body and mind.

Problems:

• Kishori's in remote villages of Maharashtra/ Karnataka is unable to access sanitary napkins.
• Due to a prolonged lockdown period, adults are staying at home without any means of earning a livelihood. This stress is putting children and Kishori's at risk of abuse.
• Mental health concerns of Kishori's require special attention during these difficult times.
• While there is awareness about the safety precautions related to COVID, those who are ill (with or without COVID) are being ostracised.

We believe that the well-being of children is determined by their physical and mental health. Therefore, to address the physical and mental health concerns of adolescent girls, a campaign is being launched, using a two-pronged approach.

Material distribution: 

• Sanitary Napkins: We are proposing to supply sanitary napkins to 800 Kishori's that will support them for three months. This will help the adolescent girls to maintain hygiene and ensure healthy living.
• Masks: To protect boys and girls from being infected with COVID-19, we will distribute 5000 cotton mask to adolescent girls and boys so that they can easily wash the masks regularly and re-use them.
• Educational needs: In response to children’s demands for educational support, we will distribute 400 kits of notebooks so they can continue their studies, along with drawing sheets and ruling pages that the children can use for recreational and learning activities. 

Awareness Generation:

• Flyers with myth-busting information on social taboos around menstruation, protective measures against COVID-19, the importance of speaking up against abuse, and ways to identify and manage anxiety and depression will be given to all 900 Kishori's.
• Provide counselling services to adolescent girl children.

Foundation for dignity rights and wellbeing’s response: Kishori Kalyan Campaign:

• Through this campaign, two objectives will be addressed, namely distribution of sanitary napkins to 2000 Kishori's and awareness generation amongst the community, especially Kishori's, around menstrual hygiene, abuse, mental health and protection against COVID.
• Provide counselling services to adolescent girl children.