Donate for Dignity in Menstruation

This #DaanUtsav, help Rangeen Khidki provide reusable menstrual hygiene kits worth Rs.500 and Rs. 1000 to under-resourced women in West Bengal. For details, please see the proposal below.

Rangeen Khidki – #DaanUtsav Proposal
In these strange times of physical distancing, it is a challenge to cultivate a sense of humility and empathy. #DaanUtsav presents the perfect opportunity to enable this.

Rangeen Khidki is a registered non-profit organization based in Kolkata, India. We work with urban as well as rural youth and women on gender and sexuality, sexual reproductive health rights, mental health, education and life skills.

Rangeen Khidki’s Vision
Rangeen Khidki envisions an equal world with empowered and informed citizens on gender equity, sexual and reproductive health rights and services.

Rangeen Khidki’s Mission
Rangeen Khidki works towards gender justice and empowerment using a rights-based approach to enhance leadership, build advocacy networks and work towards entitlements, dissemination of knowledge in community.

Rangeen Khidki’s Values
We strive to create a culture based on trust, equity, transparency, inclusivity and sustainable systems.

Past work
Rangeen Khidki has worked with adolescent boys, girls and young people since its inception in February 2020 to raise awareness and influence behavioural change through workshops, events and programs. We have run campaigns and programs reaching more than:
• 1200 adolescent girls in schools, villages and slums through our workshops
• 28,000 young women and girls by providing access to menstrual kits in our relief campaigns
• 60 adolescent boys in villages through our sexuality education and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) workshops
• 100+ professionals by training them to use the gender equity lens in their ongoing work and make their programs gender inclusive
• 20 partners with whom we have created a knowledge and support network to increase our outreach to young people
• More than 30,000 persons reached indirectly
Proposed plan of action for Daan Utsav
This Daan Utsav, Rangeen Khidki would like to continue its social outreach initiative and donate up to a 1000 menstrual hygiene kits to under-resourced women and girls in both urban and rural areas. There are two categories of these kits with the following contents-
1. The regular kit will include 3 reusable cloth pads made by women residing in slum communities, 1 underwear, 1 packet of biodegradable disposable pads, 1 small bar of soap and information leaflets. The cost per regular kit is Rs. 500
2. The large kit will include 4 reusable cloth pads, 3 packets of biodegradable disposable pads, 2 underwear, 1 bar of soap, information leaflets and 1 Menstrupedia comic book. This will cost Rs. 1000.
We are looking for school students to actively participate and raise funds to donate these menstrual hygiene kits. This would also help increase awareness and remove the taboo that surrounds menstruation by initiating a conversation about it.
To this end, we propose to execute at least one of these ideas to get the creative juices flowing:
Short term:
Participants will receive a certificate recognizing their participation from Rangeen Khidki.
1. A poster-making competition on the theme of gender, menstruation, period myths, the role of boys in menstruation, menstruation and work etc.
2. Essay/short story writing competition on the theme of gender, menstruation, period myths, the role of boys in menstruation, menstruation and work etc.
Long term
Participants will receive a certificate recognizing their participation from Rangeen Khidki.
1. In this lockdown period when schools and workplaces are closed, we are spending considerably more time at home. We could undertake small tasks such as doing the dishes/ dusting/ laundry etc. to share the burden of household tasks. These tasks can be monetarily compensated by parents at the end of each month and the money earned can be donated to the organization. This instills in us a sense of achievement and also empathy.

In the spirit of Daan Utsav please donate money for arranging the menstrual hygiene kits to rural and urban women from under-resourced households and help us make a bigger impact!