Please help me FIGHT PERIOD POVERTY!!

Period poverty affects women and girls all over the world. 800 million girls and women aged between 15-49 are menstruating on ANY GIVEN DAY and access to sanitary products, safe, hygienic spaces in which to use them, and the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma, is essential for anyone who menstruates. But for many, this is not a reality. All over the world, women and girls miss social, cultural and educational endeavours when they’re on their period, because they don’t have access to sanitary towels. They risk infections from using makeshift pads such as toilet paper, socks and gloves, newspaper, scotch tape etc. THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE IN 2020. In the words of Freweini Mebrahtu, 2019 CNN Hero of the Year, “Dignity for all girls”. I decided to fundraise and buy sanitary products for women and young girls in my native land of Eritrea with a strong emphasis on reaching out to those that live in small towns and villages as they tend to suffer greatly due to period poverty. One of the recurring themes that I’ve heard with regards to period poverty back home is that cultural sensitivities and ignorance around the topic of periods make it very hard for girls and women to even reach out and ask for help. When a young girl is on her periods, she has no choice but to miss school. Imagine missing school for a WEEK EVERY MONTH from the age of 10 or 11 till about 16 or 18. That is a horrific figure to imagine and even worse to think about the consequences of missing that valuable educational time in a patriarchal society whereby women are extremely discriminated against. "When a girl finishes secondary school, she is less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse, and suffer from long-term health complications. As a result, educated women and girls are more likely to have fewer, healthier children, who are then, in turn, more likely to get an education and pull themselves out of poverty. " The mere fact that something as natural as menstruation is considered taboo in many parts of the world is absolutely disheartening and quite frankly shameful. This is a global crisis that needs everyone's attention. I will be travelling to Eritrea sometime in March and in conjunction with the local community there, I plan to give out pads and menstrual cups to schoolgirls and young women in the district of Keren. Please, let us help in eradicating or at least curbing this shameful global disaster.