SWADHIN- MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT (MHM) IN AND AROUND THE TEA GROWING REGIONS ASSAM AND NORTH BENGAL
9 out of 10 women in and around tea estates believe menstrual blood is impure. Women and adolescent girls use cloth as menstrual absorbents, which does not get naturally disinfected under sunlight. They choose cloth over menstrual absorbents due to high cost of the products, non-availability and lack of prioritizing their own health and hygiene. Menstruation and risk of staining forces girls to miss school and keeps women out from work, leading to loss of income and livelihood.
APPL Foundation has selected Menstrual Hygiene Management as the flagship program for the year 2023. It seeks to work on improving menstrual health awareness in and around 15 tea estate communities, covering around 29000 women and adolescent girls across Assam and North Bengal. The program was initiated a couple of years ago.
ACHIEVEMENTS
As of September 2022, 52% of women and adolescents from these 15 tea estates have been sensitized on the use of menstrual absorbents, safe disposal, and hygiene practices. 50% of women and adolescent girls have started using menstrual absorbents regularly. Initially, the MHM Coordinators (called Sakhis) would seek out the women and girls to educate them on menstrual health and using menstrual absorbents. But since 2021, due to awareness, access and affordability, they seek out the Sakhis during their menstrual days to purchase pads. Till date, 47 Sakhis have transformed into Agents of Change in these areas.
SCALING IT UP
The aim for the coming year is to improve menstrual health and hygiene in and around all 25 estates of North Bengal and Assam, targeting 80% coverage of women and adolescent girls.
KEY OBJECTIVES:
1. Awareness on Menstrual Hygiene,
2. Access to quality, affordable menstrual absorbents,
3. Dignified menstrual hygiene practices at workplace,
4. Eco-friendly and hygienic disposal of menstrual absorbent,
5. Sustainable livelihood generation through sale of menstrual absorbents.
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES:
1. Selection and training of the Sakhis, identified from the community itself,
2. Baseline Assessment to understand the current menstrual hygiene practices,
3. Awareness campaigns by the Sakhis, including the distribution of menstrual absorbent samples,
4. A business model wherein, Sakhis will receive an incentive against their sales of menstrual absorbents and awareness campaigns,
5. IEC materials to be displayed in public locations to further drive the concept of MHM.
Estimated funds required for successfully running these activities for 12 months in the 25 tea growing regions is around Rs 25 lakhs, to be spent on activities as enumerated above.
Help us raise funds for our specific needs.
| Project | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| TEAch Me | Ensuring quality supplemental education for classes 4-12, around tea estates through offline pre-loaded grade-wise supplemental tutorials, at 2 centers in North Bengal. Aim to expand to Assam in 2023. | |
| Referral Hospital and Research Centre, Chubwa Tea Estate | Improving healthcare for people around Chubwa TeaEstate, Dibrugarh,Assam. The Referral Hospital with SA8000 certification requires a CT Scan Machine to render advanced diagnostics at affordable rates. |
A big thank you to all those who have donated on this page.
APPL Foundation was formed on 29 August, 2011, as an irrevocable trust with the dominant objective of the welfare of the general public in distress. The Trust has been formed as a charitable organization among others to provide medical aid, services and relief, attending and propagation of education and learning, environment protection and food security to general public at large and for the revival of indigenous tribal, music and dance.
APPL Foundation has been working to bring about improvement in the quality of life and standard of living in the North East.
Our initiatives in the field of education, skill development, healthcare, culture, income supplementation and environmental conservation have had far-reaching impact within the desired communities.
