Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
Her Dignity
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Her Dignity is a community based menstrual access system helping girls access menstrual products consistently, so periods do not limit her Dignity, education or participation.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ubeh-favour-ba13623b8?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_android
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
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?
Growing up, I experienced menstrual stigma, having to improvise and feeling ashamed because i did not have enough menstrual education or access to the products I needed. As I began engaging with girls in my community through advocacy, I realized that some of them were still facing similar challenges. My "Aha!' moment came during one of my advocacy sessions with girls. The girls enjoyed the session and participated actively, especially during the activities that helped them build their confidence and change how they viewed themselves. At the end, I gave one girl a pack of sanitary pads, she appreciated it and said, "if not for anything but for the gift of this pad, thank you". That moment stayed with me. I realized that while the education was important, giving one pack of pads could not solve a need that would continue every month. Is tarted thinking beyond one time distribution and about how girls could have more consistent access to menstrual products. That was what led me to begin thinking about her dignity.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Her Dignity is focused on period poverty, particularly the lack of continuous access to menstrual products in my community. Girls, both in school and out of school, still struggle to get the products they need when they menstruate. From my conversations and engagements with girls, I have heard about girls improvising when they do not have sanitary products, feeling different or ashamed and sometimes missing school because of their periods. This matters to me personally because I have experienced the stigma and difficulty that can come with not having the right menstrual products or information. Through my advocacy work, I have also seen that girls need more than conversations about menstruation. They need reliable access to the products that allow them to go to school, participate in activities and live without feeling ashamed because they are menstruating.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Her Dignity will create a community based system that makes menstrual products more consistently accessible to girls rather then relying only on one time distributions. The first step will be to meet with community leaders,women leaders and schools to understand the best and easiest to access points where girls can receive menstrual product. I plan to provide girls with menstrual kits containing two packs of pads, pants and soap alongside menstrual health education and support. The aim is not simply to give girls products and leave. The reusable pads can extend the period of support beyond the immediate use of a disposable pack, while education will help girls understand how to use and care for the products properly. I also want to build partnership with organizations that produce reusable menstrual products, NGOs, businesses and community leaders. The initial funding will help me demonstrate the project, gather evidence of what works and use that evidence to approach potential partners for continued support through products, funding or other resources. Before expanding I also want to listen to girls and understand their preferences and concerns about reusable products. This will help Her Dignity respond to what girls actually need rather than assuming that one menstrual product will work for everyone.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Her Dignity is still at an early stage but I have worked with girls in a few villages and schools in my community through menstrual health advocacy and product distribution. I have pictures and evidence and the schools also have records of some of the activities. Through these engagements i have seen how much menstrual products can mean to girls. I have also learned that providing products once does not remove the challenge because girls continue to menstruate and need access to products. With Her Dignity, I hope to reach more girls, including girls who are out of school and may be missed by school based interventions. I want girls to have more consistent access to menstrual products,miss fewer school days or activities because of their periods and feel less shame and stigma around menstruation. As the project develops, I plan to measure the number of girls reached,the number accessing menstrual products, their feedback and whether the system is helping them manage their periods more consistently.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Her Dignity different is that it is not designed around a one time menstrual health campaign or distribution of sanitary pads. It focuses on creating a more continuous community based access system. Existing interventions can provide girls with menstrual education and sanitary products, but the products eventually finish and the need returns. Her Dignity is focused on what happens after the first distribution. The project will combine menstrual health education with access to menstrual products, including reusable options, while working with community leaders, schools and potential partners to create a system that can continue beyond one funding opportunity. Another important difference is that Her Dignity will intentionally include girls who are out of school. Many programmes reach girls through schools but girls who are not in school can also experience period poverty and may have fewe opportunities to access these interventions. The project will also be built around listening to girls and understanding what they are comfortable using. Rather than simply deciding what products girls should receive, I want their experiences and preferences to help shape the system.
How many people are on your team?
4
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
At the moment, I am leading the development of Her Dignity. I have advocates from Tomorrow Is A Girl Initiative who have worked with me during menstrual health engagements and can support future community education. As I develop the project, I would like to involve community and women leaders, schools, menstrual health organizations and other young advocates so that the project is built with the community, not only by me.
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.
Over the next three months, I want to begin by meeting with community leaders,women leaders and schools to understand the best way to reach girls and identify accessible points for menstrual products. I also want to speak with girls to better understand their menstrual needs and their views about reusable and disposable products. After this, I will begin a small pilot of Her Dignity, providing menstrual kits and education to girls and documenting what works. The next step will be to use the evidence from the pilot to approach organizations that produce menstrual products, NGOs businesses and other potential partners for support. I want to build partnership that can contribute products, funding, education or other resources. Over the next year, my goal is to strengthen the system,reach more girls in and out of school, measure the results and gradually expand Her Dignity to more parts of my community.
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.
I have already engaged girls through menstrual health advocate sessions where we talk openly about menstruation, hygiene, stigma and access to menstrual products. I have also worked with other advocates through Tomorrow Is A Girl Initiative, who support conversations with girls and help create a safe space for them to ask questions and share their experience. With Her Dignity, I want to involve more people by taking the conversation beyond schools and reaching girls in the wider community, including girls who are out of school. I want the woman leaders,community leaders,schools, organizations, businesses to understand the problem and see how to contribute. As the project develops, I will share the experience and results from the pilot to help people understand why continuous menstrual access matters and encourage them to become partners or supporters of the project.
