Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
ComfortPads: Reusable Pads for Everyone
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
ComfortPads is a community project that will produce affordable, comfortable, reusable menstrual pads that can help people manage menstruation with greater dignity while reducing the cost and waste associated with disposable menstrual products.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
While I was growing up, one day I saw blood gushing out from my vagina. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I ran to my mother crying, my mother hugged me and consoled me. She told me, that it is natural and it means I am now a woman. She told me the little she knew about menstruation. But my mother could not afford to buy disposable pads for me. So she cut a piece from her old wrapper and gave it to me to use and using it was very difficult for me at times all my cloth will be stained with blood, I no longer go out as I want whenever am menstruating. We didn't know those pieces of cloth from my mother was not hygienic and it later gave me infection. After some months, some people came to our village. They said they are an NGO. They taught us about menstrual hygiene and how to stitch reusable pads by ourselves. I learned how to stitch my own pad. Since then, I feel more comfortable, clean, and safe. I am no longer scared. I also saw an opportunity to learn a useful sewing skill and use it to create something that could benefit people in my community. Although the project is still at the idea stage, I believe it can grow into something meaningful because menstrual care is a regular need. My goal is to learn how to produce good-quality reusable pads, test them carefully, and eventually make them accessible to people who need affordable menstrual-care options
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Menstrual care can be difficult for people who cannot regularly afford disposable sanitary products. The cost of buying pads every month can become a burden, particularly for families and individuals with limited income. Comfort is another concern. Some people experience irritation, rashes, or discomfort when using certain menstrual products. At the same time, disposable pads create waste because they are used once and thrown away. This problem matters to me because menstruation is a normal part of life, yet the lack of affordable and comfortable menstrual products can affect a person's confidence, comfort, and ability to participate fully in school, work, and community activities. I want to help create an affordable reusable option that people can wash and use again. By combining sewing skills, community education, and reusable materials, the project can address both affordability and waste while promoting better menstrual-care choices.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Our solution is to learn how to design and sew reusable menstrual pads that are comfortable, washable, durable, and affordable. The project will begin with training and practical learning. I will develop my sewing skills and learn the correct way to design reusable pads, including choosing suitable absorbent and comfortable materials. With my team of 15 people, we will work together to develop and test sample pads before distributing them. We will pay attention to important features such as comfort, absorbency, secure fitting, durability, and ease of washing. We will also seek feedback from potential users and improve the design based on their experiences. Once we have a reliable design, we will produce the pads at an affordable price and explore ways to make some available to people who may not be able to afford commercial menstrual products. Education will be an important part of the project. We will explain how reusable pads are used, washed, dried, and stored hygienically. We also hope to work with schools and community groups to share information about menstrual health and reduce embarrassment around menstruation.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
The project is currently at the idea stage, so we have not reached anyone yet and our current number of beneficiaries is 0. However, we have a team of 15 people who are interested in developing the idea. Our first measure of impact will be successfully learning to produce safe, comfortable, reusable pads and testing them with potential users. After that, we hope to provide affordable menstrual-care options to people in our community. Over time, we aim to reach students, women, and other people who menstruate, particularly those who struggle with the recurring cost of disposable products. We also hope to reduce the amount of menstrual-product waste produced by encouraging people to consider reusable alternatives. We will measure our progress by tracking the number of pads produced, people trained, users reached, feedback received, and reusable pads distributed or sold. Our long-term goal is to make menstrual care more affordable and comfortable while giving young people practical sewing and entrepreneurship skills.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Our project is innovative because it combines menstrual health, sewing skills, affordability, and environmental responsibility in one community-based solution. Instead of focusing only on providing disposable menstrual products, ComfortPads aims to create a reusable option that can be used repeatedly. This can help reduce the need to purchase new disposable products every month and can reduce waste. Another important difference is that we want to design the pads around the needs of the people who will use them. We will test our designs, listen to feedback about comfort and absorbency, and improve the product rather than assuming that one design will work for everyone. The project will also create opportunities for young people to learn practical skills. Members of our 15-person team can participate in sewing, design, testing, education, outreach, and project management. We are starting locally, which allows us to understand the needs of our community and develop a solution that is affordable and realistic for the people we hope to serve. As the project grows, the same approach could be introduced to schools and other communities.
How many people are on your team?
15
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Our team has 15 members, including me. I will take a leading role in learning and coordinating the production of the reusable pads. Team members will support sewing, design, testing, community outreach, education, and organizing materials. We will share leadership by giving members responsibilities, listening to their ideas, reviewing our progress together, and making important decisions as a team.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
My first priority is to learn how to produce high-quality reusable menstrual pads. I will improve my sewing skills and learn about suitable fabrics, absorbent materials, pad designs, hygiene, and proper finishing, so that my fellow girls who are in the village will not have to face what I faced, because treating infection and having stains all the time is not easy, people will be laughing and insulting you. So I would like to see my fellow adolescent girls feel comfortable with reusable pad without having to break the bank. Next, our team will have to undergo a serious training on how to make reusable pada after which we will create sample pads and test different designs to identify which are the most comfortable, absorbent, durable, and easy to wash. We will collect feedback and improve the design. We will then begin small-scale production and identify people who can help us test the products responsibly. We hope to connect with schools, community organizations, sewing professionals, and people interested in menstrual health. As we gain experience, we plan to train more members of our team so that production does not depend on one person. We will also develop a simple plan for obtaining materials and producing pads consistently. Our long-term goal is to grow from a small idea into a sustainable community project that provides affordable reusable menstrual product.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Because the project is still at the idea stage, we have not yet engaged beneficiaries. However, our 15-person team is already the beginning of our community of changemakers. As we develop the project, we will encourage others to participate through conversations, demonstrations, school and community outreach, and educational activities about menstrual health. We will explain the challenges of expensive menstrual products, discomfort, and waste, while showing people how reusable pads can be made and used responsibly. We will invite people with sewing skills, students, teachers, community members, and organizations interested in menstrual health to support different parts of the project. We also plan to listen to users and involve them in testing and improving the product. Our goal is not simply to make pads. We want to build awareness, share useful skills, encourage people to support one another, and show that young people can identify problems in their communities and create practical solutions.
