The Sanitary Napkin Project, launched Summer 2014, aims to fight poverty by both employing impoverished widows and by offering the area’s women and girls a safe and affordable way to manage their menstrual cycles, thus allowing them to attend work or school during menstruation.

The aim of the Sanitary Napkin Project (SNP) is to provide economic empowerment for impoverished widows while improving the lives of other women and girls through educational initiatives and by offering a quality product.

Shelter currently employs 12 widows, who work in shifts of 8 hours, to manufacture sanitary napkins in the safe environment of the BIRDS campus in Muthylapadu Village. This project has changed the lives of our employees and their families, bringing them out of poverty and giving them a chance at a brighter future. Learn more about our employees here.

As of September 2014, our widowed employees were producing about 400 sanitary napkins per day. The napkins are then sold to women and girls for a competitive price through the area’s system of Community Health Workers. In Summer of 2015, we have a goal of distributing to the area’s petty shops to reach a wider audience.

After a Summer 2015 study on feminine hygiene in the surrounding areas, Shelter has identified areas where educational interventions are needed and will begin launching these interventions in the coming months.

While the SNP has been a successful project in many ways, we are not yet sustainable! Please consider making a donation to help keep this valuable project running!

The Inauguration of the Sanitary Napkin Project

SHELTER’s brand of sanitary napkins–widow approved!