Country: India

Organization: GOONJ

Idea: A women whether in a village,town or a big metro needs a sanitary napkin for those 5 days in a month. That need transcends cultural, social and economic factors. In most Indian villages where people don't have enough to get food and shelter, the women - the most marginalised, end up using the most worthless cloth available in the house. This cloth is reused many a times without proper washing or drying in the sunlight. The mositure and dirt causes various life threatning diseases like cervical cancer and other hygenie related infections. Millions are spent on lecturing on better reproductive and women health issues but this basic issue is never addressed which can save thousands of lives. Goonj is working on generating awareness and empathy among urban women to support millions of deprived women. Most women are largely unaware even about the practices of their own maid servants.

How do you do it: For seven years Goonj is running a nation wide movement channelising vital resources lying in excess in urban households to the poor in far flung rural areas in India to help channelise their meager resources to other more pressing needs. Women in the metros face similar experience in those 5 days, only they can afford a sanitary napkin. We work towards sensiting urban women on this issue. For most urban women in different age groups; in schools, collages, corporartes etc the appauling conditions of women in villages and the big health risks involved are a big eye opener. They are motivated by the easily available solution their old cloth can offer.Donated old cloth is washed and sanitized to make 1ft by 1ft cloth sanitary napkins. Our trusted network of grassroots NGOs reach it to the remote villages. The emphasis is on talking about this "never talked about" but basic issue and provide a better piece of cloth.

Innovation: Goonj's innovative approach involves looking for a solution for village women's basic need by involving a broader and yet a similar target audience of urban women. The strategy is a win win situation for all the stakeholders. The urban women discarding old unusable cloth, with better awareness and empathy on an issue she closely identifies with, is able to channelise this useless material as a resource for her less fortunate counterpart. The problem of both the groups finds solutions by articulating their common status as women and advocating an ethical standpoint that every women deserves the right to a basic dignity in those 5 days. In one process a big medical problem faced by village women is addressed, a channel recycling resources lying unutilised in urban households is formed and more significantly a long lasting link and empathy between urban and rural women is developed.

Impact: This subject is a taboo topic even among women whether urban or rural. To create awareness about the appalling conditions in which the village women live in these 5 days the first step is to get people especially women talking about different kinds of practices and experiences around this subject. Goonj volunteers consistently bring up the subject in different interactive forums. The idea is to make even unrelated groups like young school girls, men, old women become aware of the deplorable state in which women live in villages. A more aware and compassionate urban audience will help generate more material for a beneficiary group which is not even completely aware of the dangers it is running into with the prevalent practices.

Ethical Action: In a small village "Shikhoabad&" in the state of U.P. in India, a women died of tetanus some time ago because she used a piece of old blouse with a hook inside. Similar real life stories about totally preventable deaths are strewn across Indian villages. A study of reproductive health status of rural women in India shows that although a lot of money and resources are being channelised, no work is being done on this first cause of reproductive diseases, the most basic need. The change we are hoping to bring about is not just for the rural women, it is equally for making a wider group of urban women more aware and responsive to the conditions and lives of their counterparts in the villages. In a society moving towards better technological gadgets for an easier life, our goal is to highlight to the urban women on how a village women still struggling for the basics of life can benefit by the simplest of means.

Replication: Women all across the world face the 5 days of menses every month and the use of cloth is a very commonly prevalent practice. The difference between an urban woman and a rural woman is in terms of their economic status and awareness about related health issues. Irrespective of all other factors every women identifies, understands and empathizes with the problems and difficulties involved during those days. The replication of the model is quite easy and doable in any part of India and rest of the world wherever there is poverty and women are unable to fulfill even the basic needs of food and shelter. In India Goonj has already started making cloth napkins and is sending these to many states like Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal facing extreme poverty. On the other hand Goonj is targeting big metros for awareness generation and motivating women to discuss this issue and help generate material. We are soon replicating the same in Nepal and other parts of the region.

Sustainability: The main aspect of resource generation is taken care by converting wastage into a resource. Nothing is being manufactured rather we are trying to provide better alternatives within the same system but with more awareness and participation on the basic issues related to this. Involvement of a large urban female population as active participant will ensure regular supply of raw material, which is their old cloth. A well established network of grassroots NGOs, CBOs, Panchayats, Self Help Groups, Indian army as distribution partner across the country ensures a proper distribution mechanism. Individuals and corporates are already coming forward to sponsor detergent, washing machines etc which further reduces project costs for a project having far reaching impact.

Position in the Ethics Mosaic of Solutions:

Factor: Ignorance of consequences

Principle: Developing self-awareness and interconnectedness