Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
17
Project title
Period emergency project
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
The Period Emergency Project (PEP) is a menstrual health initiative that makes sanitary products and menstrual health education safe, accessible, and openly available to young girls. It aims to ensure that no girl ever has to feel ashamed, miss school, or struggle simply because she has her period by creating accessible emergency period support and encouraging open conversations around the female cycle. This project aims to promote dignity, confidence, and equal opportunities for every girl.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.instagram.com/periodemergencyproject?igsi=MWh5bnlneGgxYTF0Yw==
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?
The Period Emergency Project was born from a simple realization that getting your period unexpectedly should never mean missing class, feeling embarrassed, or struggling to access something as basic as a sanitary pad. Menstruation is a natural part of the life of every girl. Yet, many girls still experience shame, misinformation, difficulty, and myths about accessing menstrual products, especially when their period comes unexpectedly while they are at school. I want to create a change that goes beyond simply providing pads. I want to help build a society where girls can talk freely about menstruation, access safe menstrual and hygiene products when they need them, and receive accurate information about their bodies without shame or judgment. That is why I created the "Period Emergency Project" to make menstrual care safe, accessible, and openly available, while promoting menstrual health education and challenging the stigma surrounding periods. I believe that a girl's period should never be a barrier to education, confidence, or participation.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
The Period Emergency Project addresses students' difficulty accessing sanitary products during their periods, especially when they cannot afford them, and also ensures they have the right information about menstruation. This can lead to embarrassment, discomfort, missed classes, anxiety, and, in the worst-case scenarios prone to chronic infections. The project also tackles the lack of open, accurate menstrual health education and the stigma that makes girls feel ashamed of a natural biological process.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
The Period Emergency Project addresses period poverty, lack of access to and information about sanitary products and menstruation, and the big issue of menstrual stigma among students. The project will create accessible Period Emergency Points in schools where students can access free sanitary pads and counseling about menstruation when their periods start, and alternatives when they cannot afford a pad. It will also provide simple, accurate menstrual health education through workshops, posters, and peer-led conversations. This makes a difference by helping students manage their periods safely and confidently, reducing embarrassment, missed classes, and anxiety caused by being unprepared. The project also promotes open conversations about menstruation, helping students understand that periods are a natural part of life, not something to be ashamed of.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Through the Period Emergency Project, I hope to create a school community where menstruation is understood, respected, and never treated as something to be ashamed of. I want to ensure students can access safe, affordable menstrual products when they need them, while also providing accurate menstrual-health education that helps girls better understand and care for their bodies. My goal is to reduce the number of students who miss classes, activities, or opportunities because they cannot access menstrual products or feel uncomfortable discussing their periods. Beyond immediate support, I hope to challenge menstrual stigma and myths, encourage open and healthy conversations, and empower students to support one another. Ultimately, I want to build a sustainable model that can grow beyond my school and reach other schools and communities, creating a future where no girl is held back by her period.
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 the Period Emergency Project different is that it addresses menstrual challenges from multiple angles, not just focusing on giving out menstrual products. The project combines access to menstrual products, practical menstrual-health education, and student-led support in one initiative. Students will be able to access menstrual products when they need them while also gaining accurate information about menstruation, menstrual hygiene, and when to seek help. We also plan to involve students in identifying menstrual-health challenges within their community and developing solutions together. Our goal is to create a sustainable, student-driven model that can be introduced in other schools and communities. By combining immediate support with education and stigma reduction, the project aims not only to respond to period emergencies but to change how menstruation is understood and discussed.
How many people are on your team?
6
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
PEP Leadership Team Founder/Lead: Keeps the team organised, sets goals, and leads decisions. Operations Lead: Plans outreach, manages pad distribution and supplies. Partnerships Lead: Contacts schools, NGOs, brands, and sponsors. Media/Education Lead: Runs social media and creates awareness/educational content. Finance/Impact Lead: Tracks money, resources, people reached, and products distributed. Medical Lead: Oversees health information and ensures it is accurate and safe.
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 intend to launch the Period Emergency Project and turn it from a concept into reality at my school. Firstly, I will undertake a survey asking girls about what their barrier is to menstruation, whether its not having enough information about it, purchasing power, or stigma related to menstruation, and also asking them about their existing knowledge about periods. Using the gathered information, in this stage I will help them build their confidence. Once I achieve that, I can proceed to my next step. I will find a few volunteers who will set up a menstrual dispenser that will be available for girls to pick up pads whenever they are needed. Additionally, I will organise seminars and invite professionals to speak to the girls about menstruation and how to handle it, to foster openness and combat the stigma surrounding the topic. Finally, I will keep track of the number of students served by the project and measure the efficacy of our station. Moreover, I will be looking to build partnerships with other organisations, women’s health officials, and businesses to help support my initiative and secure a steady supply of sanitary products. Over the year, I would like to expand the reach of our project, scale our impact within our school, and develop the concept further so that it could be used in other locations.
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 will endeavour to change the culture around periods by normalising the topic of discussion in schools and making it less of a taboo. This will be done through sensitisation using social media, fliers, awareness campaigns, meetings, and peer education. Information related to menstrual hygiene and period poverty will be shared using simple language and relatable analogies. I will also encourage volunteerism by inviting students to be ambassadors and advocates. They can participate in fundraising activities, awareness campaigns, and offer insights regarding their needs and preferences about menstrual care products. In addition, ambassadors and volunteers can collect data and disseminate information about the project in their respective schools. Furthermore, I intend to network with existing student groups, medical professionals, corporations, and communities to improve the project’s sustainability and scalability. Student involvement will play a significant role in ensuring the campaign is impactful. I will ensure the students understand their role in breaking down period stigma and promoting menstrual hygiene. I believe that students can appreciate the fact that the issue affects everyone and is a community problem that requires a collective solution.
