Access to 2.500 menstrual cups for girls and women

NARRATIVE REPORT FORMAT

1. GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. Name of the organization: Oriéntame Foundation
2. Country: Colombia
3. Year of project: 2021
4. Project name: FIFTH PHASE- Live your menstrual care: Access to menstrual health for girls and teenagers.
5. Report Period: May 18^th to September 18th, 2022
6. Report preparation date: September 18th, 2022
7. Name of person responsible: Lady Alba

2. PROJECT OBJECTIVES

1. Strengthen self-knowledge and self-care of the bodies of girls and teenagers in Bogotá, Soacha and Pereira (Colombia)

3. ACTIVITIES EXECUTED:

From May 18^th to September 18th, 2022. We outlined the project activities, and we began the implementation.

3.1 Development of educational content and didactic exercises for training sessions on menstrual care and self-care.

We designed workshops on menstrual health. The contents had four recorded and animated units: "knowing my body"; "my menstrual cycle, my rules"; "menstrual care"; and "the menstrual cup as a great option."

3.2 Inviting girls and teenagers to educational activities on body self-knowledge and menstrual care and health

It had two components:

The invitation to launch the project was spread among different stakeholders, such as community leaders, institutional referents, and teachers, to make the course available to them and promote it among girls.

We also directly invited girls and young women between the ages of 13 and 25 in Bogotá, Soacha and Pereira and community leaders. Furthermore, the invitation was shared through different virtual media such as social networks, email, WhatsApp, and phone calls and voice to voice.

We created three WhatsApp groups to share information and reminders of important dates with the participants. We developed the content according to their age in three groups. The first one was teenagers between 13 and 14 years; the second group was teenagers between 15 and 17 years old, and the third was for women of 18 years and up.

205 girls, teenagers, young people, and leaders were enrolled in the project from various locations in Bogotá, Soacha and Pereira. The program was developed on-site process at three educational institutions at San Cristobal a vulnerable neighborhood in Bogotá, Soacha and municipality near Bogotá and Pereira. .

This course strengthened the knowledge and autonomy in self-care of 205 young people between the ages of 13 to 25 who completed the process and where beneficiaries of the menstrual cup.

3.3 Conduct onsite training in menstrual care and health, focusing on girls' self-awareness of their bodies.

The workshops began on May 18^th until September 18th. Each unit contained the following activities:

1. Let's learn together - introductory video of the topics to be discussed in each unit.
2. Fun facts - PDF with key facts to consider.
3. Let's clarify questions - participate in the forum by asking questions or exploring a topic.
4. Let's chat
5. What did you learn? - To answer questions about the content studied in the unit.

205 women participated in process, including high school and university students, and with no studies, teenagers, and young adults.

3.4 Prepare the general concept for the campaign and graphic pieces on menstrual cup use and menstrual hygiene.

Seventeen graphic pieces were designed within the framework of the workshops, emphasizing key aspects of the use of the menstrual cup, the concept of menstrual health, the menstrual cycle, menstrual products, and knowledge of our body

3.5 Raising awareness.

Informative capsules on menstruation were published on social networks and WhatsApp groups. Participants expressed their appreciation for the course, and we posted those images as well as a drawn representation of the vagina and vulva.  We compiled some images, highlighting their creations and their messages.

3.6 Identify the leaders of the participating municipalities.

1. Community leaders, institutional referents, teachers, parents of the municipalities of Bogotá, Soacha and Pereira were invited to participate in the project through phone calls and emails.

3.7 Develop a work plan with the leaders.

1. The formation cycle was carried out with leaders and mothers through four workshops 1) Empowering ourselves about our body -Menstrual cycle and female anatomy. 2) Menstrual management - understanding our menstruation to harmonize with it. 3) Learn about menstrual health products - a personal choice. 4) Discover the menstrual cup - an option to know our body.

3.8 Implement workshops on menstrual health, use, and maintenance of the menstrual cup, myths about menstruation, and the menstrual cup.

The four sessions developed within the training cycle included the correct use of the cup, good and bad practices using the cup, myths and advantages of menstruation, body knowledge, different definitions, and menstruation practices in different contexts.

Results

4.1 Workshops on menstrual health and care delivered to girls and adolescents

1. The workshops strengthened the knowledge and self-care of 205 girls and teenagers Bogotá, Soacha and Pereira between the ages of 13 to 25 years. We provided timely information on menstrual health management through activities, readings, videos, participation forums, and synchronous tutorials.
2. The workshops aimed to create support networks among teenage girls since it was possible to communicate quickly and share different topics related to menstrual education. It was also possible for participants to freely express different experiences, taboos, and myths about menstruation and menstrual products in a non-judgmental environment, generating a space of trust that allowed questions to be answered and discussion spaces to be created.

4.2  Menstrual hygiene awareness campaign aimed at girls and adolescents.

1. There was a positive response to the graphic pieces shared on social media by leaders, professionals, teachers, adolescents, and WhatsApp groups. They express interest in learning about menstrual health management, the menstrual cup, and its proper use. They contribute by replicating this information in their WhatsApp status.
2. Awareness plan for leaders and parents who support girls and adolescents.
3. The project's launch was a key space for its implementation. It allowed us to contact community leaders, professionals, and teachers interested in accompanying the educational process and the delivery of menstrual cups.

5.  EVALUATION OF PROJECT PROGRESS:

5.1 Main achievements

1. A significant achievement was to have the support of several entities to conduct the dissemination and enrollment of the young women in the project.
2. Within the framework of this project, we worked with three educational institutions. They showed interest in participating in the menstrual health course and receiving education and access to the menstrual cup. This articulation was managed through teachers who summoned the girls and accompanied the enrollment process and delivery at the institutions.
3. The invitation to enroll in the project had a significant impact on social networks, contact lists, emails, replicating and sharing the pieces, achieving a greater reach to young people and other leading organizations interested in accompanying the process of menstrual health management.
4. Teenagers’ attendance and interest remained high, although the workshops were intense.  

1. 2 Challenges, barriers, or obstacles faced and solutions

During this phase the delivery of cups was no longer viable. We are having a significant decrease on resources that does not allow us to give menstrual cup to the attendees. We are eager to keep teaching more about menstrual health to young women and teenagers around the country, but we need a dramatical increase in the resources that we receive through GlobalGiving .

1. 3 Lessons learned

We learned that having workshops might be more engaging for young women than a virtual course. We have learned that menstrual health management should continue to be addressed broadly to provide safe and accurate information about menstruation, the advantages and disadvantages of various menstrual products, and the promotion of knowledge and care of one's own body. From this knowledge, we are aware of the power we must make decisions, participate in safe sex, and understand natural processes such as menstruation.

Links:

• https://fundaorientame-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/fgarcia_orientame_org_co/ErqFtRrca39Nj3Q_kEB5qlUBWc-vWlpuK1wOC8pjO8DGsg?

• Project_report.pdf (PDF)