A Letter From Our Founder Karo Omu

Alexa: Describe the work that we do in one word, or few.

Karo: We provide menstrual hygiene education and products for girls and women in low income communities.

Alexa: Care to say more?

Karo: We try to go beyond that to support the girls and women, make sure their wash facilities are better and ensure access to sustainable menstrual health education and products. Sustainability to me means that because we are largely crowd funded we are trying to secure more partnerships than relying on donations so that we can continue to do our work.

Alexa: How do we make those donations more sustainable?

Karo: We are trying to develop our regular giving by having people commit to monthly amounts rather than running campaigns and getting one-off payments. When we started the organization, we didn’t start with the goal of being an organization so we didn’t have sustainability in mind. Now, we are providing that support until they (the girls and women we serve) don’t need the support anymore.

Alexa: I know that we are also focusing on reusable products (reusable pads, menstrual cups, etc.) although we still use disposable products in our outreaches. Is that part of sustainability to you too?

Karo: Yes, sustainability is also thinking about the environment and how much our products impact the environment. At our core we serve girls who don’t have the means to buy these products for themselves, but we also think about sustainability for people who can afford to buy pads and can become more educated on menstrual health. For example, since switching to reusable products, I no longer have cramps and have to be in bed all day because of it.

Alexa: Switching gears a little bit, what is period poverty?

Karo: It is the lack of access to menstrual products, good hygienic facilities as well as lack of menstrual health education.

Alexa: I’m so excited for you to share your research paper on the effects of period poverty on school aged girls in Nigeria and what you have learned throughout this process. What does a Nigeria without period poverty look like?

Karo: It looks like girls not missing school because they don’t have access to products. You know, period poverty also contributes to stigma - not participating in sports, missing activities, etc.

Karo: 1 in 10 girls in Africa has missed school due to a lack of period products, in Nigeria it’s almost 1 to 5 girls. Ask yourself, do people know how to measure their cycle? Some people think about their cycle separately from their reproductive health. There are lots of toilets in low income areas that are not hygienic and this is all a part of hygiene and by extension menstrual hygiene. Providing these products is telling girls that they are important and they should participate in school and live with dignity. Our work is all part of the ecosystem of poverty because if people were not poor, they would not have period poverty. There are some people who suffer from lack of knowledge or don’t have access to a doctor and these are all the reasons that we exist and continue to do the work.

Alexa: Why is today, menstrual hygiene day important?

Karo: I really hope that we get to a place where organizations like SANG don’t need to exist anymore. Everyone in the government, individuals and others need to talk about period poverty with the seriousness it deserves. I want a world where there are pads and tampons in public toilets, where we can have conversations without shame and stigma, and where we can break that taboo and stigma. I want people to feel this strong conviction about our cause, continue to support the work that we do with their time and donations.

Karo: We should all have this at the forefront of our minds - there are millions of girls experiencing period poverty and there is something we can do to help support a fraction of this women. We can make the experience of menstruation a little better for women that experience period poverty and that is what we will continue to do.