Sponsor sanitary napkins for rural women

Impact

Channiben Vasava is a resident of Dumalpur village. She is 38 years of age and is a married woman with three daughters. The economy of the family is earned from daily wages. She was aware about Asani sanitary napkins only after attending the Menstrual Hygiene Management awareness program organised by a field officer of Gram Vikas Trust. **She says, “Attending the MHM awareness program has helped me to understand the importance of menstrual health and how a woman can take care of herself by small steps of hygiene”.** According to the field officer she has also trained her three daughters on using pads after seeing the demo in MHM awareness. She says that she feels very comfortable in using pads and she is now confident that her daughters will also be safe and healthy by using pads instead of clothes.**Asani continues to help women and girls like her to learn about menstrual hygiene and the health benefits of using safe sanitary napkins.****Your help will ensure safe and hygienic menstrual management for the rural women like Channiben. You can help them by sponsoring sanitary napkins****You can give with confidence because every program listed is [GIVEASSURED] (https://monthly.giveindia.org/giveassured).**

About The Program

According to research, over 80% of women in India do not use sanitary napkins.Sanitary napkins are generally unavailable in rural areas of the country and if available, they are too expensive for rural households to afford.Therefore, women resort to age-old alternatives like cloth, ashes, and husk sand during menstruation. These substitutes are not only extremely uncomfortable but also the cause of various diseases and infections, some of which have lifelong effects. Unhygienic menstrual practices can affect the health of the girls and women and there is an increased vulnerability to reproductive tract infections and pelvic inflammatory diseases and other complications.As there are lots of myth and taboos associated with menstruation and also due to lack of education, rural women are not aware of the consequences of unhealthy sanitation, nor are they keen to discuss about menstruation-related problem in the open.A female from a rural region will almost never ask a male shopkeeper for a packet of sanitary napkin. Even in the urban areas, females are hesitant to purchase napkins.To overcome these and to make women and girls use sanitary pads for better menstrual hygiene, Gram Vikas Trust in association with Desai foundation started Asani sanitary napkin - for women by women program. In Asani program high quality low cost sanitary napkin are prepared by a group of women and also sold by them at faliya level. With the help of SHG members, ASHA workers, local leaders or any other NGO in the village, DFT runs campaigns to create awareness among adolescent girls and women.There is a small team which is involved in the production of sanitary napkins through a machine. The packing and packaging are done by hand.

About The NGO

Hailing from a rural background, the founder of Gram Vikas Trust (GVT) was no stranger to hardships. Ramesh Kasondra, himself, has undergone several economic and social challenges. In order to convert his experience and exposure to support and uplift his society, he established Gram Vikas Trust. GVT now operates in more than 100 villages of Bharuch district with the key areas being child rights, education, health and hygiene, sustainable livelihood, and women empowerment. GVT's belief that knowledge is the path to self-development has re-enrolled thousands of school drop-outs back to school. To promote an equitable living environment, GVT gives vocational training to hundreds of students each year along with awareness on health and hygiene. The organization was actively involved in constructing and renovating the sanitation facilities of the Government Schools in and around their district. GVT is committed to creating a strong and independent society without inequality. It aims for a society free of discrimination and where everybody enjoys equal opportunities.