Menstrual Awareness For Vaidu Tribals
As a part of their community service project SURAKSHA, the Rotaract Club of GDC College and Hospital, Mumbai, and the Rotary Club of Bombay went to the Vaidu-inhabited areas of Jogeshwari and Marol. Volunteers Natasha Mehta, Mansi, Aishwarya, Saumya, Saimantika, Rashmi and Tarun worked to spread menstrual awareness amongst the Vaidu women.
Female members of the Vaidu community traditionally earned their livelihoods by collecting herbal plants to produce ayurvedic medicine. Now, they work as maids, clean sewage and sell stationery and hair accessories door-to-door.
They barely manage two hot meals for their children. Using sanitary pads is far from being a priority of any kind.
Young women of all ages were educated on:
1) normal menstruation
2) importance of maintaining menstrual hygiene
3) benefits of sanitary pads over cloth
4) how to use and discard sanitary pads
This was followed by an open conversation with the young girls to break the taboo around menstrual health. Questions were addressed and answered by the present Doctor Volunteers.
A pack of sanitary pads was given to each individual after the session. A total of 155 sanitary pad packs were distributed. 68 among the Vaidu women in Marol and 87 at the Jogeshwari camp.