End Poverty Innovation Challenge 2019 finalist, Period Pride Campaign, is a company founded to challenge the negative social impacts of period poverty for those at the bottom of the pyramid. The Period Pride Campaign was founded by two women: Trine Angeline Sig from Denmark and Thelma Musanhu from Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. Rooted in accountability and transparency, Period Pride’s mission is to eradicate period poverty and to create a world in which young girls do not have to miss school because of their period. They work to educate and raise awareness around the lack of resources for proper menstrual hygiene.
Women in developing countries cannot afford sanitary products and are forced to use alternative materials—anything from toilet paper to newspaper to cow dung—that put them at risk of infections and infertility. In fact, one in ten girls are forced to miss school because they are unable to find the correct menstrual hygiene products. If they are not missing school, they are bleeding onto their uniforms during class.
The Period Pride Campaign supplies these young girls with SafePad™, a reusable sanitary pad designed to provide a safe and infection-free solution. SafePad™ was created by a Danish company in 2016 and is an innovative sanitary alternative to provide menstrual products to young girls. Along with SafePad™, Period Pride Campaign works to raise more awareness around menstrual health. While much information can be found online, it is not always accessible. That is why the Period Pride Campaign supplies girls with the booklet "My First Period" by Real Relief to educate them.
Trine Angeline Sig and Thelma Musanhu have made great changes globally and locally. They have been able to keep more girls in school and to give them a space to speak up about their experiences. One of the girls they have helped says:
“My period is my beauty. The very essence of being a woman. My stain, my blood, is not a shame, but just a reminder that I have to get help and stop the bleeding. You and you can join us and have a voice. Today I break the silence. My period is my pride.”
The Period Pride Campaign has changed the lives of these young women by continuing to eliminate poor menstrual hygiene practices and keep girls in school.
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