PNN
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 12: Child Help Foundation (CHF), a Pan India non-profit organization, through its Menstrual Health Education and Sanitary Napkin Distribution Programme, Child Help Foundation (CHF) reached women and adolescent girls across multiple states, distributing sanitary napkin packets through targeted drives and dedicated awareness sessions on menstrual hygiene and health. Menstrual health remains one of the most overlooked barriers to a girl’s education and a woman’s dignity, particularly in communities where access to sanitary products is limited or disrupted by circumstances beyond their control.
Menstrual health remains one of the most overlooked barriers to a girl’s education and a woman’s dignity, particularly in communities where access to sanitary products is limited or disrupted by circumstances beyond their control.
Speaking on the programme, Mr. Shaji Varghese, CEO of Child Help Foundation, said, “Menstrual health is not just a matter of hygiene; it is a matter of dignity, confidence, and the right to continue education and daily life without interruption. CHF teams reached thousands of women and girls across Assam, Bihar, and Maharashtra, including communities still recovering from floods, and that reflects our commitment to ensuring that no woman or girl is left without support, regardless of the circumstances she faces.”
 
 He further said, “Whether it is a flood-affected village in Assam, a ward in Bihar, or a children’s home in Mumbai, our approach remains the same: treat every woman and girl with the respect and care she deserves. Crossing millions of units distributed to date is not just a number for us; it represents thousands of days where a woman or girl did not have to choose between her health and her dignity. This programme will continue to expand, because dignity should never depend on where you live.”
The programme extended across the following states:
*         Assam, where communities in Sivasagar, Tiwashong, and Paschim Nagaon continue to recover from severe flooding
*         Bihar, with distributions carried out across Begusarai district
*         Maharashtra, with a dedicated awareness session and distribution drive in Mumbai
In Assam, the initiative took on added significance given the scale of disruption caused by the recent floods. Over 200 adolescent girls residing at Kaumudalaya Children’s Home in the Jaysagar area of Sivasagar district received 1,200 units of sanitary napkins, ensuring that displacement and disaster did not compromise their basic health needs. A further distribution drive was carried out at Jamuna Road in Sivasagar district, reaching 250 families and benefiting 500 women with 3,000 units of sanitary napkins. Beyond Sivasagar, the programme’s reach extended into Tiwashong and Paschim Nagaon, covering schools, institutions, and child care centres across these flood-affected areas to support an additional 1,500 beneficiaries with 9,000 units of sanitary napkins. Together, these efforts formed part of a wider distribution delivering 12,000 units of sanitary napkins to 2,000 total beneficiaries across the three regions, reflecting CHF’s belief that relief work must include dignity, not just survival, and that menstrual hygiene cannot be treated as a lesser priority during times of crisis.
In Begusarai, Bihar, distribution drives were carried out through local Anganwadi Kendras, reaching 3,500 women and adolescent girls, each of whom received 72 units of sanitary napkins, delivering a total of 2,52,000 units across semi-urban and rural communities where access to sanitary products is often inconsistent, and awareness remains limited. These grassroots interventions continue to form the backbone of CHF’s presence in the state, reaching families who may otherwise go without this basic necessity.
The programme extended beyond distribution to education, with a Menstrual Health and Hygiene awareness session conducted for adolescents at Ankur Children’s Home, Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra, where 288 units of sanitary napkins were distributed among the 48 beneficiaries. Jiji John, Executive Director of Child Help Foundation, was present at the session as a guest, spending time with the girls and encouraging them to speak openly about menstrual health and accept it as a natural, unremarkable part of life. His presence added weight to a conversation that continues to carry stigma in many communities, reminding the girls that their well-being matters at every level of the organisation. Sr. Nancy, In Charge of ANKUR Children’s Home, expressed her appreciation to Child Help Foundation for the collaboration and the impact it created among the girls at the home.
Altogether, August saw 2,64,288 units of sanitary napkins distributed across Assam, Bihar, and Maharashtra. This adds to a much larger body of work. As of March 2026, Child Help Foundation has distributed 4,30,472 units of sanitary napkins through this programme, excluding this month’s contribution, a number that reflects years of sustained commitment to menstrual health as a matter of basic dignity, not charity. Please check https://childhelpfoundation.in/help-direct/
Child Help Foundation remains committed to breaking the silence around menstrual health and ensuring that women and adolescent girls across India have access to the products, awareness, and support they need to live with dignity.
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