Empowering Girls: Menstruation, Education and Health

Project Objective:

This project will address gender disparity, economic barriers and empowerment for women and girls approximately from age 9 to 40. The goal is to provide knowledge, confidence, capacity and materials to allow these persons to participate fully in school, in work and in their communities at the same level as any other member of that community. We will approach this by working with younger, newly menstruating girls and also with young adult women who are beginning their lives outside of the family home.

School girls age 9 to 13: We will provide training workshops and washable, ecological menstrual hygiene kits to 3,000 girls in the fifth and sixth grades. The workshops will be taught in primary schools in groups of 7 to 20 girls in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Upon successful completion of the workshop, each girl will receive a washable, reusable menstrual hygiene management kit that will last them for up to three years. The program will keep girls in school by providing them with education, self confidence, empowerment and resources and giving them equitable education and opportunities. The project empowers the girls to see their womanhood as natural and healthy, breaking cultural taboos and generational limitations.

The mothers of the girls who are receiving the workshops will also be offered a simultaneous workshop that will include sessions together with the girls and sessions independent from the girls. These mothers will serve as a crucial support system for their daughters, providing guidance and continuity of knowledge with their daughters and their siblings. These mothers will be a resource in the community for other mothers and other families.

In a different approach to the project objectives, we will work directly with young adult women who may have different life activities such as student, working/employed, mother - any post-primary school women who can benefit from the workshops, the empowerment and the reusable menstrual hygiene management kits.

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Community Assessment:

1. Empowerment: Girls in rural San Miguel often know little about puberty and have few resources at their disposal, including their parents who lack reliable information. Many of these girls are surprised and scared 
by their first menstruation. The Girls’ Empowerment Project provides hands-on workshops to girls 10 to 14 years old to teach them about periods, good hygienic practices, and how to manage their period so that they can 
stay in school on a full-time basis. In addition, our teachers serve as an inspiration to the girls, demonstrating that they can accomplish anything to which they aspire.

2. Health: Most rural families cannot afford to purchase disposable sanitary pads even when they are available. Girls resort to using unhygienic methods to manage their periods. Girls need to have the appropriate equipment to manage the menstrual cycle to prevent diseases caused by using unsanitary pads and other inadvisable materials.

3. Education & Combating Poverty: Data has proven that girls who fail to manage the menstrual period are considerably more likely to miss substantial amounts of school and eventually drop out. Our program gives girls the opportunity to stay in school, to understand, value and respect their bodies, secure better jobs, earn more money, and control their own futures.

4. Menstruation taboos: Most mothers in this region of Mexico do not have enough information to share with their daughters, and the information they receive at school is also very limited.

* How did your project team identify these needs?
UNICEF has provided key research results and recommended interventions to address the needs listed above. in addition, a recent study in Mexico indicates that “Menstrual Poverty in Mexico: 17 States Lack Legislation to Guarantee Dignified Menstruation in Schools." A report from the organization Mexicanos Primero reveals that 43% of Mexican students prefer not to attend school during their period; 20% have been absent at least once, and 30% have had to improvise with toilet paper due to a lack of adequate products.

To clarify the extent and nature of the problem locally, we have formed an alliance with the Secretary of Education, Guanajuato (SEG) to learn that menarche and menstruation was leading to absenteeism and high dropout rates for girls. The SEG immediately embraced our plan to provide workshops.

We conducted interviews locally with women to discover that first periods are often traumatic and troubling for young girls from all levels of society. A focus group with 18 mothers from six communities in rural San Miguel told us that lack of information and resources for women living outside of San Miguel was a significant and universal problem.

Recent surveys of over 40 women indicate that they felt nervous, surprised, scared, and angry during their first menstruation due to a lack of knowledge. Most of these women have limited understanding of the topic, which complicates sharing information with their daughters and even understanding their own bodies.

We conducted interviews with front line primary school teachers and administrators and were informed of the lack of information and education to prepare girls for the onset of their periods.


* How were members of the benefiting community involved in finding solutions?
Even these communities’ mothers felt they did not understand a woman’s cycle and physiology well enough to manage it for themselves - much less enough to train their children. They had no solutions to speak of and were thrilled we could offer one. They want this education for their children, and they look forward to learning, as well.

* How were community members involved in planning the project?
We consulted with mothers in rural communities where our Rotary Club is known and trusted. We spoke directly with front line teachers who told us of the effects the start of the menstrual cycle has on grades and graduation rates. The teachers for our “Ninas Sabias” empowerment workshops also come from local communities, so the program creates jobs and sets a good example for our young students.

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Project Design:

Activity
Upgrade Training
Purchase requisite materials
Schedule schools in our program
Work with the school to spread awereness
Hold our week-long seminar "Niñas Sabias program"
Distribute sanitary reusable menstrual Kits

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Direct Beneficiaries:

Improving community hygiene knowledge, behaviors, and practices that help prevent the spread of disease

Number of individuals trained - Direct observation -3000
Number of Re-usable menstrual kits delivered -Direct observation -3000

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Sustainability:

The Ninas Sabias program is a series of five two-hour workshops provided to girls in regular school hours. The workshop facilitators are certified by “Ninas Sabias program” after completing a 40 hour in-person training and then completing an additional 100 hours virtual practicum. Though our classes typically will have 7 to 20 girls from the 5th and 6th grades.

It is important that parents are aware of the workshops and that they are confident in our curriculum. Parents are invited to observe the first day of workshops, so they can become familiar and comfortable with the content and material.

Each Girl/Teacher/Mom who completes four out of the five modules will receive a free menstruation kit that will last for several years. We don't need to encourage them to attend; they are enthusiastic participants.

Initially, we had a "Wise Assistant" who served as the link between our program and the community's girls. However, as we developed workshops in schools, it became more challenging to involve a mother in the project/workshop due to their existing household commitments. Therefore, our strategy shifted: now, a female teacher from the school takes the workshop, supports the certified teacher, and acts as a resource for the girls as they receive program information. This way, in subsequent years, these same teachers can promote the message shared through this program's information, as they are the first point of contact with the girls at school.

From the start, our certified teachers provided their personal WhatsApp numbers or phone numbers to the girls for direct support with any questions. For January 2026, we plan to implement WhatsApp groups to serve as a direct link between the girls and the teachers. This will allow us to follow up on their questions and administer follow-up surveys six months later.

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Collaborators:

Midday Rotary has a signed contract with the Secretaria de Educación Guanajuato (SEG), which will provide the schedule for the weekly workshops, will provide the access to the schools during the school day and will promote the program to the school directors (principals) and teachers and we will have their assistance with using the school classrooms for the moms' workshops.

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Evaluation and Monitoring:

Pendiente

Host Partner

International Partner (Optional)

Project Status