Awareness & Sanitary Napkin Distribution (Mittur) – June 25, 2011

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Mittur Trip

On Saturday June 25th, twelve individuals boarded a bus headed for the village of Mittur. The group included four YFS volunteers, a student and professor from Mount Carmel College, Mr. Kalawat, and seven of his senior companions. The bus was loaded with sanitary napkins and jump ropes to distribute to the girls studying in the government school in Mittur.

Following a long, scenic drive, we arrived at the school in Mittur. The girls from eighth standard and above were gathered in a classroom and a survey was conducted to assess how they were currently managing during their menstrual cycle. Some of the girls did use pads, but many of them were still using cloth. At first, it was difficult to get the girls to even answer the questions as they were feeling extremely shy. Then, slowly, when the talk began, they opened up and were listening attentively. One girl even came forward and gave a demonstration on how to use a sanitary napkin.

After the talk delivered by Sinu Joseph, sanitary napkins provided by Ms. Shanti from Mount Carmel College were distributed to the girls. This was followed by some informal interaction between the volunteers and the school kids. Two hopscotch outlines were made on the school grounds. The children were quite excited and played many rounds of hopscotch.

After the kids and volunteers all settled down, the new eco-friendly toilets that had been built in the school were inaugurated. This was followed by a function in which the toppers of the school were rewarded. It was inspiring to see the hard work of the students bearing fruit as they came forward and humbly accepted the recognition. The girl who had scored the highest marks was given a computer. Another student was awarded sponsorship for his further studies. After the function, a hearty lunch was served. Then, we thanked and said goodbye to all the wonderful people we had met that day and boarded the bus once again to depart.

Overall, this day trip to Mittur was a great experience. It felt good to ensure that the girls there had access to the same knowledge we had about menstrual hygiene. I am sure everyone that went on this trip is looking forward to the next chance they will get to visit Mittur and interact with the people living there again!