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NOT JUST A PIECE OF CLOTH
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IDEA :
A women whether in a village, town
or a big metro needs a sanitary napkin for those 5 days in
a month. That need transcends cultural, social and economic
factors. In most Indian villages where people don't have enough
to get food and shelter, the women - the most marginalised,
end up using the most worthless cloth available in the house.
This cloth is reused many a times without proper washing or
drying in the sunlight. The moisture and dirt causes various
life threatening diseases like cervical cancer and other hygiene
related infections.
Millions are spent on lecturing on better reproductive and
women health issues but this basic issue is never addressed
which can save thousands of lives. GOONJ...
is working on generating awareness and empathy among urban
women to support millions of deprived women. Most women are
largely unaware even about the practices of their own maid
servants.
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Washing
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Drying |
HOW DO WE DO IT :
For seven years GOONJ..
is running a nation wide movement channelising vital resources
lying in excess in urban households to the poor in far flung
rural areas in India to help channelise their meager resources
to other more pressing needs. Women in the metros face similar
experience in those 5 days, only they can afford a sanitary
napkin. We work towards sensitising urban women on this issue.
For most urban women in different age groups; in schools,
colleges, corporates etc the appalling conditions of women
in villages and the big health risks involved are a big eye
opener. They are motivated by the easily available solution
their old cloth can offer.
Donated old cloth is washed and sanitized to make 1ft by 1ft
cloth sanitary napkins. Our trusted network of grassroots
NGOs reach it to the remote villages. The emphasis is on talking
about this "never talked about" but basic issue
and provide a better piece of cloth.
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Packing
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Some
images of the process of collecting, washing, making and packing
the sanitary napkins |
Stacking |
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INNOVATION
:
GOONJ's.. innovative
approach involves looking for a solution for village women's
basic need by involving a broader and yet a similar target
audience of urban women. The strategy is a win win situation
for all the stakeholders. The urban women discarding old unusable
cloth, with better awareness and empathy on an issue she closely
identifies with, is able to channelise this useless material
as a resource for her less fortunate counterpart.
The problem of both the groups finds solutions by articulating
their common status as women and advocating an ethical standpoint
that every women deserves the right to a basic dignity in
those 5 days. In one process a big medical problem faced by
village women is addressed, a channel recycling resources
lying unutilised in urban households is formed and more significantly
a long lasting link and empathy between urban and rural women
is developed.
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SUSTAINIBILITY :
The main aspect of resource generation is taken care by converting
wastage into a resource. Nothing is being manufactured rather
we are trying to provide better alternatives within the same
system but with more awareness and participation on the basic
issues related to this. Involvement of a large urban female
population as active participant will ensure regular supply
of raw material, which is their old cloth. A well established
network of grassroots NGOs, CBOs, Panchayats, Self Help Groups,
Indian army as distribution partner across the country ensures
a proper distribution mechanism. Individuals and corporates
are already coming forward to sponsor detergent, washing machines
etc which further reduces project costs for a project having
far reaching impact.
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