BVHA

1.

My name is Kanchan Devi, a resident of Dakra Mor Village, Panchayat IndraRukh west, Jamalpur Block. I come from a middle class family. My husband’s name is Dharmendra Mandal who is a farmer and pulls a cart. Some time back, I attended a women meeting on MHM organised by BVHA.

I got important information and guidance on the elements of menstrual hygiene from Vandana Kumari (Panchayat MobiIizer). This meeting was conducted at Aanganwadi Centre-58. We all were pre-informed by Vandana Didi regarding the meeting. She explained menstruation related facts in detail to us. She talked about hygienic practices that we should adopt and that there is a chance of infections resulting from poor hygiene practices. She also guided us on food habits, the problems that a women or girl may encounter during menstruation, and how to get relief from such problems. She mentioned the necessity of toilets and bathrooms in the house.

After the session, I went to Vandana Didi and discussed my problem. I was suffering from white discharge for a year. There was always an unbearable stomach ache and body ache during my periods. I asked her what I should do to cure it. Vandana Didi listened to me carefully and asked my age and what practices do I follow during menstruation. I told her that I am 38 years old and I do not use clean cotton cloth during the periods all the time. I told her about the white discharge problem and body ache after the birth of my second child. She advised me to go to the doctor. I asked her to accompany me as I was afraid and did not want to go alone.

Vandana didi took me to Goyanka Hospital. The doctor asked for an ultra sound test. The report said that I have an infection in my uterus which needed to be operated immediately. Or in the long run, it can turn into cancer. At that time, I did not have enough money. The doctor prescribed some medicines and I got back home. I spoke to my husband about the infection. Vandana didi also talked to him. As my husband had already attended one of the menstrual awareness meetings of Vandana Didi, he understood my problem. For a few days I continued with the medicines but it didn’t work and the situation got worse. Then I decided to get it operated.  I was paying a price for my ignorance and unhygienic menstrual practices.

Now, since last two months, I have been working with Vandana didi and I conduct awareness sessions on menstrual hygiene. I teach the basic elements of menstruation and menstrual hygiene to girls as it is best to start with adolescent girls. I do not have a daughter but I educate other’s daughters so that no one faces the situation I did.  I will make sure that it does not happen again with anyone else.

It’s never too late to start over!

At present, Kanchan Devi is working as a change agent in the society and she focuses towards the menstrual hygiene awareness campaign and sustainability of the project.

2.

I am Vanadana Kumari and I work as the Panchayat mobillizer in Panah Aashram. We are working on BVHA’s Project- Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). There are 7 villages and 18 wards in Itahari Panchayat, Jamalpur Block.

Working on menstrual hygiene awareness at the village level was challenging for me. This is a kind of subject where nobody opens up or shares their views. They do not even want to discuss it. It is surrounded by silence, shame and social taboos. I started working in Itahari panchayat and met Manisha Devi, the mukhiya of the village. I discussed the goal of our project and briefed her about the working approach. She was very supportive and appreciated our effort. I asked for her help in organising a meeting with men and women as it is quite difficult to mobilise people. She understood the significance of the project’s objective and assured me that she will cooperate with us in every possible manner. She introduced me to the ward members and briefed them about our programme. All the ward members were very cooperative and ready to lend a hand in our project.

In the month of August, a PRI meeting was scheduled under the MHM project. Our District Coordinator also participated in this meeting. We discussed the poor condition of toilets in schools and homes. All the PRI members signed an MoU regarding Increasing community action to improve access to clean toilets with water, both at home and in schools.

The awareness meeting on menstrual hygiene with men and women was being conducted successfully in the villages. People started appreciating our effort and started understanding the significance of menstruation and menstrual hygiene in their lives. It resulted in the construction of around 200 new toilets in the Panchayat and 30-40 toilets are under construction at present. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of our mukhiya.  She voluntarily came forward to help us. She not only facilitates us in conducting meetings but also actively participates in VHSND at the Aanganwadi centre. Earlier, VHSNC was not at all active in the area but Mukhiya made an effort and started its meeting in a structured and organised manner. As a result, VHSNC becomes active and organises its meeting on the last Saturday of every month. This was really a great achievement for all of us.

All I can say is Itahari Panchayat has understood the importance of MHM Project and that was really a motivating factor for us.  To all of you, many anonymously, who have made this challenging project possible, I want to say thank you. I would especially like to thank Mukhiya and ward members, who have donated their time and constantly supported us in the progression of the project.

Manisha Devi hopes that the other Panchayats should also understand the significance of MHM and help women lead a healthy life. She feels proud of being a woman now. Earlier, she used to ignore the basic elements of menstruation and considered it as a taboo. But now she is fully aware of the importance of menstrual hygiene and she considers it as the essence of life. She has understood that improving menstrual hygiene is important from the point of view of personal comfort and increased mobility. It also reduces the likelihood of infections resulting from poor hygiene practices during menstruation.

3.

I am a daughter of a farmer and got married at the age of 12 years. I had just started menstruating and was unaware and afraid of it. So I asked my mother but she avoided to answer and said that it happens to every girl.

After one year when I got married, I asked my sister-in-law about it but she laughed at me. When I asked repeatedly, she realized that she also does not know much. I followed the menstrual hygiene practices which other female family members followed. I did not know whether I was following the wrong or right practices. This way, I passed my 35 years of my life.

A few months back, I saw a street play on menstrual hygiene management held in our village. I was also informed by the Anganwadi worker that Panah Ashram has organized a meeting in the village. When I attended the meeting, I came to know about the menstruation process and hygienic practices. I was using any type of cloth, but when I understood the whole process, I became confident and started using clean cotton cloths, cleaning and washing with soap and dry it under sunlight.

Now I feel that I came to know of such important information after passing half of my life. I have two young daughters and when the time will come, I will explain to them beforehand so that they do not face the problems that I faced.

4.

My name is Sajni Devi and I am 38 years old.  I married 24 years back and have been staying in my in-law’s house. I have two sons and one daughter. My husband is a farmer and I am assist him in the fields.

I started menstruating when I was 14 years old and since then, I had been following the practices which my mother had told me. During periods, I was restricted for doing many household chores especially in the field.

When I attended a meeting in the village, I understood that I had been following wrong practices. At the end of the meeting, I met Mrs. Bibha (project personnel) privately and told her that since the last four years, I have white discharge and back pain with some itching problem. She recommended me to consult a doctor and follow hygienic menstrual practices, which she explained during the meeting.

I realized that because of my unhygienic practices, I am suffering from such illness. As per her suggestion, I went to the PHC and started getting treatment. My treatment is going on and we decided that we ensure that our daughters use sanitary napkins when they grow up.