The Paree Project: A Fight Against Period Poverty

Purpose: Promoting menstrual literacy, addressing period poverty, and creating sustainable menstrual health solutions in rural northern India.

Challenge: Imagine being a 14-year-old girl in rural India, where discussing menstruation is taboo and accessing hygienic menstrual products is a distant dream. More than just a lack of products, this silence is a barrier to opportunities for millions of women.

Each month, girls must choose: risk health with unsanitary alternatives or miss school because they can't afford pads. It’s not just about missing a few days of school; it’s about girls dropping out and losing their future over a natural bodily function. The cycle of period poverty traps girls and women in silence.

In India, over 50% of 355 million menstruating women lack access to sanitary products. This deficiency leads to significant school dropout rates; nearly 23 million Indian girls annually leave school due to inadequate menstrual hygiene management.

Solution: In a quest to create sustainable solutions for menstrual hygiene, I, Ria Govil of The Pingry School, have partnered with the NGO, Pinkishe Foundation. I am excited to be fundraising for my initiative: The Paree Project. The Paree Project, named after the word for "fairy," represents the efforts to give women the wings [opportunities] necessary to meet their basic needs. Through our efforts to combat period poverty, we aim to further the movement against gender inequality.

As the first step, The Paree Project is adopting a village near New Delhi, India. I have identified a rural community with an urgent need for hygienic sanitary supplies. Free sanitary products will be distributed to women in need. I will also employ trainers to participate in a six-month sewing skills training initiative. Throughout this program, young girls will receive instructions in fundamental sewing techniques, including crafting reusable cloth pads. The trained girls will earn compensation and initiate their journey towards economic self-reliance. In an educational workshop, the eco-friendly sanitary pads will then be distributed to adolescent girls in the community.

The impact:

The Paree Project aims to empower women by promoting independence within the community through creating job opportunities and sanitary products distribution. The hope is to build a sustainable community that would thrive on its own without requiring additional resources in the future.

I am excited to imagine the impact I can create, giving women the opportunities they inherently deserve. Thank you for helping me bridge the gap in gender inequality.

Additional information:

www.pinkishe.org

www.thepareeproject.org