July 7 2023
The Shishukunj Chapter of Rutuchakra, in collaboration with KaraCare- an organisation working towards the same goal- organized a fundraising competition which was to be followed by a sanitary pad distribution and awareness campaign.
The fundraiser was in the form of a competition in which there was an entry fee which would later be used to buy menstrual pads. Other than this people could directly donate for the fundraiser without entering the competition as a participant. This fundraiser was conducted from January 1 to January 15, 2021; during which the group collected ₹3825. This amount was used to buy 15 packets of reusable pads (each costing ₹255).
The next part of the campaign was the distribution campaign which was conducted on 26th January 2021. For this, some volunteers along with the core team members of Rutuchakra Shishukunj and the founder of KaraCare went to a backward area near Radisson Hotel. There they contacted 15 menstruators out of which two were teenagers and the rest were adult women.
The volunteers then distributed these reusable pads among them, explaining the benefits of reusable pads and how to use the same. While talking to them about the reusable pads, they also spoke to them about general menstrual health, educating them about the symptoms of the menstrual cycle and how to deal with them healthily and hygienically.The menstruators were very interactive. Several women asked questions like whether having cramps was normal, how to deal with cramps and what to do when you are deficient in iron due to heavy flow during periods. They shared their problems as well which mainly included blood clots, blood deficiency and white vaginal discharge. The mode of communication between our volunteers and the residents of that slum was Hindi and local dialect. It was a successful and a well conducted campaign and we applaud all the students who were part of this great initiative
