EuroSchool students raise Rs 20 lakh to provide hygiene kits underprivileged women

Mumbai, April 20

The pandemic has impacted the incomes of several poor families across the country. Basic needs of food & hygiene have also been affected due to the financial crises caused due to the lockdown. Poor menstrual hygiene poses physical health risks and has been linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections. In order to address this problem EuroSchool, a leading network of K-12 schools collaborated with Rotary Club of Bombay Pier, Rotary Club of Mumbai Salt City in association with Fuel A Dream, a crowdfunding start-up to raise funds for hygiene kits for underprivileged girls and women of Mumbai and surrounding districts. The school leadership & students of EuroSchool Airoli plan to reach out to as many women as they can through various initiatives.

Through crowdfunding, Euroschool Airoli students raised Rs 20 lakh for hygiene kits and this initiative will benefit around 8500 girls and women from weaker sections of society.

The students in the age group 14 to 17 years participated in this campaign launched on  March 25. The campaign ended successfully on April 18, 2021.

Before starting this campaign students were given two sessions. In the first, they were introduced to the concept of crowdfunding and how Fuel A Dream along with the Rotary Club of Bombay Pier works for the underprivileged.

In the second session, a virtual meeting was conducted on Zoom where they were asked to choose a topic from the list shared with them. Students decided to choose the Hygiene kit campaign for underprivileged girls and women.

Sanitary napkins are a necessity for every woman and access to them is a luxury for girls from weaker sections of society. Each menstrual hygiene pack costs Rs 250 including a distribution cost and this crowdfunding will benefit almost 8,500 girls and women.

Radhika Deore, a student of EuroSchool, Airoli, said, "Coming from a well-off family background I have so many privileges which other girls of my age may not have. I consider it my responsibility and duty to others. My father and his friends happily donated to the project. I am grateful to my school for encouraging us to be a part of such a cause."

Echoing the sentiments of Radhika, another EuroSchool student, Aditi Mallya, said, "Girls my age resort to unhygienic ways to cope with menstruation, due to lack of resources and this often leads to infections and diseases. I understand this difficulty and it makes me very sad. I reached out to my relatives and asked them for help. They understood the importance and donated generously. My family and family friends too helped to raise a good sum for the project."

Excited about the ongoing campaign, Sudeshna Chatterjee, Principal, EuroSchool, Airoli, said, "We have included the project under the Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) of ICSE and ISC students, which is a compulsory and integral part of their curriculum from grades IX-XII. It is also included in the Cambridge Lifeskills Programme of the Cambridge students. In the year of the pandemic, virtual education, and Work From Home, our students are doing their outreach projects for the community from home.

Link of the campaign https://www.fueladream.com/crowdfunding/search?search=euroschool