"I Know I Am Cursed"

This is the statement of a school going girl, Aklima, whom we met during our baseline survey on menstrual hygiene in Kustia, Bangladesh. 

This is the mindset of the young adolescents in rural areas of Bangladesh. They are prohibited to share the problems they are facing during menstrual cycle, even with their family and use unhygienic cloths to cover it like they are covering a crime. Only one-tenth of adolescents use disposable pads and a large fraction of girls miss out in school due to this natural phenomenon.

Our plan

Our plan is to increase the availability of the sanitary napkins at the lowest cost possible so that during menstruation the adolescent girls and women will never have to use unhygienic clothes again. And setting up the factory will just be the start of it. 

We, "Project Konna", have taken a 5 stage plan.First of all, we will start off with creating awareness.  Our first step of the project is to use knowledge as an instrument to educate the mass about nitty-gritty details about menstruation. On the 2nd stage, we planned to introduce the adolescents with sanitary pads which are still not very familiar to so many girls. Linking up the two stages, on our 3rd and 4th stage, we planned to set up a business model inclusive the ultra poor who will produce hygienic sanitary pads at a low price for the underprivileged adolescents. And in the final stage, to whom we will be providing workshops, we will encourage them to buy sanitary pads from the ultra poor group in an affordable price which will assist both the group of people to live a less hard life. 

Who are we? 

We are "Project Konna" an initiative by BANDHU Foundation of Bangladesh, has been working for the rights to Menstrual Hygiene, aiming to maintain menstrual hygiene of the underprivileged adolescents through awareness programs and online communication as well as educating both men and women on menstrual hygiene. 

Throughout 2016 and 2017, through awareness programs and online communication, we have been challenging the taboos associated with menstruation and educating men and women on menstrual hygiene. 

In 2016, a total number of 492 women and girls attended the session at Boikanthapur Tea State, Sylhet and 500 women and girls in Erendabari, Jamalpur. 2500 packets of sanitary napkins were distributed among them. In Gaibandha. 1000 women and girls attended the hygiene session and 4000 packets of sanitary napkins were distributed among them in 2017.

How You Can Help Us

So with the proposed fund of total 11,568 USD, we will expend 5,230 USD for the equipment and raw materials of the factory, 1,875 USD to set up the factory and 3,263 USD for the training and workshops in sha Allah.

Even you can help a girl child by donating only 5 USD through which she will get the proper knowledge about her menstruation through effective workshops and will get a packet of hygienic sanitary napkins for her period.