EuroSchool students raise Rs 2.5 million to provide hygiene kits to underprivileged women
Mumbai: EuroSchool, a leading network of K-12 schools collaborated with Rotary Club of Bombay Pier, Rotary Club of Mumbai Salt City in association with Fuel A Dream, a crowdfunding start-up to raise funds for hygiene kits for underprivileged girls and women of Mumbai and surrounding districts. The pandemic has impacted the incomes of several poor families across the country. Basic needs of food & hygiene have also been affected due to the financial crises caused due to the lockdown. Poor menstrual hygiene poses physical health risks and has been linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections. The school leadership & students of EuroSchool Airoli plan to reach out to as many women as they can through various initiatives. Through crowdfunding, Euroschool Airoli students raised Rs 2.5 million for hygiene kits and this initiative will benefit around 8500 girls and women from weaker sections of society.
The students in the age group 14 to 17 years participated in this campaign launched on 25th March. The campaign ended successfully on 18 April 2021. Before starting this campaign students were given two sessions. In the first, they were introduced to the concept of crowdfunding and how Fuel A Dream along with the Rotary Club of Bombay Pier works for the underprivileged. In the second session, a virtual meeting was conducted on Zoom where they were asked to choose a topic from the list shared with them. Students decided to choose the Hygiene kit campaign for underprivileged girls and women.
Sanitary napkins are a necessity for every woman and access to them is a luxury for girls from weaker sections of society. Each menstrual hygiene pack costs Rs.250 including a distribution cost and this crowdfunding will benefit almost 8500 girls and women. Through this campaign, students of EuroSchool Airoli intend to provide a reusable menstrual hygiene kit that is cost-effective, lasts long, and is not too bulky for the girls from the weaker section. The Hygiene kit consists of 2 regular shields, 6 regular liners, 1 large shield, 2 large liners, 1 Instruction manual, 1 zip lock bag, and 1 drawstring bag to hold everything together. These are stitched by women from low-income homes thus serving as a source of livelihood for them.
Excited about the ongoing campaign, Sudeshna Chatterjee, Principal, EuroSchool, Airoli, said, “The students of Euroschool are at the forefront when it comes to being socially responsible citizens. The best part about our students is they took up an initiative that even elders consider taboo and hardly talk about. This is a much-needed initiative and we were happy to see that this was chosen by our students, among many choices offered by Fuel A Dream. The target to reach a certain amount of donation defines a strong intention, but the admirable quality of determination to reach the goal that I noticed in our students was unanimous.”
She also said “We have included the project under the Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) of ICSE and ISC students, which is a compulsory and integral part of their curriculum from grades 9-12. It is also included in the Cambridge Lifeskills Programme of the Cambridge students. In the year of the pandemic, virtual education, and Work From Home, our students are doing their outreach projects for the community from home.