Did you know 1 in 5 girls in India will drop out of school after starting her period? Did you also know that 70% of women in India can't afford sanitary napkins, instead turning to unhygienic, used and re-used cloths? Shocking isn't it?!
But we know what you're thinking... how can this be the case when there is a general perception that India is "too rich for aid". Sadly this is a big misconception. India may have more billionaires than the UK and an international aid budget of its own, but this means nothing when hundreds of millions of people in rural India are still suffering, out of sight and out of mind.
At Jeevika Trust, we're working hard to change this... but we desperately need your help!
SO, WHAT IS PROJECT SNAPS ALL ABOUT?
We are a UK registered charity and have been working in village India for over 40 years to alleviate poverty and empower rural communities to build better, more sustainable livelihoods. One of our flagship projects is Project SNAPS which gives girls and women access to hygienic, cost effective, eco-disposable Sanitary NAPkinS (SNAPS).
This crowdfunder campaign is giving you an opportunity to be part of Project SNAPS!
Jeevika Trust is proud to support the improvement of menstrual health of women and girls; through our Project SNAPS, launched in 2015 and delivered by our partner Jeevan Rekha Parishad (JRP) in Odisha. The project has a three-pronged approach focusing on three areas :
1. LIVELIHOOD : Women villagers are formed into Self-Help Groups to produce and market low-cost, eco-disposable SNAPS which not only addresses their personal sanitary needs, but allows them to generate a small income from their activities.
2. EDUCATION : These napkins are then made available to girls in schools as well as village girls who are no longer in school. With better access to SNAPS, girls have the opportunity to remain in education improving their future prospects.
3. HEALTH : Through better education on reproductive health and hygiene, providing women with SNAPS and improving access to toilet facilities we aim to improve levels of health, reduce reproductive infections and allow girls to remain in school.
WHY DO WE NEED YOUR HELP?
The project is already helping over 5,000 women and girls in Odisha, but sadly we are facing a real battle to keep this much needed project going.
Up until now we have managed to secure funding for our projects in India, but many NGOs, including Jeevika Trust, have been badly hit by the UK Government's decision to drop India from its main aid fund from 2015. Indian funding may have been dropped but we will never give up on delivering our projects whilst extreme poverty in India still remains.
To date, Project SNAPS has been rolled out in 25 villages in rural India, but there are still so many villages that we haven't reached yet. We have plans to maintain Project SNAPS in the villages we have tackled, but our present goal is to roll SNAPS out to a further 25 adjacent villages. And that is where you can help!
The next phase of Project SNAPS will cost £7,000 but any money raised can be put to good use :
- £2,000 raised will allow us to purchase another SNAPS production machine which can be used by a team of 10 women
- £4,000 raised will cover the purchase of another SNAPS production machine, the cost of tools and raw materials as well as two different types of incinerator which will be trialled in the villages, so that SNAPS can be safely and hygienically disposed of.
- And if we hit our £7,000 target we can do all of the above AND provide training for health workers to provide reproductive health awareness and training of village women to produce, market and distribute SNAPS in a further 25 villages.
We know £7,000 is an ambitious target but with your help it can be achieved. So please, we beg you, do get behind our crowdfunder and help us to keep Project SNAPS alive in India. All pledges will be hugely appreciated and every penny raised really will improve the lives of women and girls in India who are continuously ignored whilst the rich get richer.
We can't allow this to continue... Our vision is for India to become a country without absolute poverty where all people have the opportunity to live with dignity, free from hunger, deprivation and marginalisation. With your help we will be one step closer to achieving this!