In my community like many other communities in Malawi, access to safe and sustainable menstrual hygiene products is still a challenge that is constantly faced. As a way of eradicating this particular challenge, I trained 34 young women and girls from different youth clubs in reusable sanitary pad making, empowering them with knowledge and skills to create sustainable menstrual hygiene solutions.

Coming into my community I was excited to work with women and girls and help them come up with solutions to some of the problems that they face; breaking stereotypes and challenges faced in different aspects of their lives the training conducted served as one of the ways of tackling these issues. This also created a healthy, secure space for women to talk about issues with menstruation by openly discussing these issues and encouraging them to talk about them without shame or fear of being judged.

The involvement of these youth clubs and these particular individuals was done as a way of ensuring that the participants are equipped with knowledge that they can later share with others in the community, creating an opportunity for those that can turn this into a business and providing eco-friendly menstrual hygiene products as we work on creating a clean and safe environment.

My journey towards implementing this activity was transformative and inspiring and being my first activity in my community it was very encouraging to see the young women excitedly participate in the training. By empowering these youth, I was not only addressing a need for this resource but also fostering a sense of community, breaking down stereotypes, and contributing to a healthier and even more sustainable future.