Samanway Foundation carries out menstrual hygiene campaign in 60 Assam tea gardens

Guwahati: Samanway Foundation in collaboration with ABITA (Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association) – UNICEF carried out a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign in 60 tea Gardens in Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Charaideo and Sibsagar districts in Assam.

The relief program was carried under Samanway’s Campaign “RED BADGE.”

More than 6,000 adolescent girls in 60 tea gardens participated during this awareness-cum-distribution program, where sanitary pads were distributed in an effort to end period poverty.

Gaurav Agarwalla ,26, Founder of Samanway Foundation said, “Our campaign was targeted to end period poverty and make menstrual hygiene an important health concern amongst the tea tribe community who are one of the underserved communities in Assam.”

Madhurjya Barooah, Secretary, ABITA Zone 1 whose organisation ABITA was instrumental in identification of the beneficiaries along with UNICEF expressed their satisfaction and said that they looked forward to engaging with Samanway for similar initiatives in future.

Samanway Foundation is partnering with UNDP to facilitate the next leg of the campaign in Rani in Kamrup Rural from November 23.

Earlier this year, Samanway Foundation in collaboration with Global Shapers Guwahati Hub, an initiative of World Economic Forum, had carried out flood relief works in Assam’s Barpeta district by donating hygiene-based relief kits, instead of the traditional ones. More than 400 families were given relief kits which included items necessary for maintaining hygiene, like sanitary pads, masks, soaps, bleaching powder and mosquito nets.