Starting an initiative - Ziyaan Virji's Story
Quick note: What is For the Menstruator?
For the Menstruator is a Youth-led initiative aiming to create a world of menstrual equity. It works in collaboration with Tunaweza Women with Disabilities to tailor and distribute its own re-usable, 100% bio-degradable sanitary products to communities, mainly in Tanzania and Kenya, where menstruators do not have access to such
A number of youths often want to start up something which will be impactful to them and their surrounding community.
But how do I start? What should I do? How should I go about it?
That is often the question on everybody's mind. Perhaps you can relate. Well, it is not that complicated. Consider Ziyaan's story
The Beginning
Ziyaan recalls scrolling through FaceBook and stumbling upon a brief documentary of an Indian man who created sanitary products for his heavily menstruating wife. Touched by the story, he indulged his mother in the conversation, only to realize that a lot of menstruators faced the same challenge; a lack of sanitary products
So what do they use?
They resolve to blankets, leaves, old pieces of cloth, and even cardboard to control their flow.
What begun as a high-school project to help a few girls in Tanzania get better sanitary products and manage their flow, ended up being a full-fledged initiative cutting across 8 countries with over 140 youths joining hands with Ziyaan to combat the challenge.
Why is the lack of access to sanitary products an issue?
The World Health Organization reports that over 500 million menstruators do not have access to sanitary products; be it a tampon, a pad, or even the recently invented cup. This affects each individual differently. For instance, in less economically developed countries, these young girls are unable to go to school due to embarrassment coupled with stigmatization. Sadly, many communities in most non-developed countries believe menstruating is a taboo. The larger impact of this in society is that it silently feeds the continuous poverty cycle by inhibiting access to education. Stigmatization affects individuals emotionally and mentally; inhibiting their ability to become people of value.
Attempting to Solve the Issue:
With the help of a local tailor in Tanzania, Ziyaan learned how to design and stitch his first-ever re-usable sanitary napkin. This newly learned skill became immensely beneficial to 22 women in Mishi, Tanzania, who were also recipients of Ziyaan’s newly-made reusable napkins. Hedhi Salama; a local organization helped him with the distribution of his first packages.
When the going gets tough; Facing Challenges
A significant challenge for Ziyaan, despite being able to help 22 women, was the realization that his actions heavily contributed to the issue. While the women may have received re-usable biodegradable napkins, they could only use them for a span of 6 months before having to dispose of them; they would wear out and become ineffective.
Solving the problem:
One major lesson Ziyaan acknowledges is the need for a team or group of brains that can ideate and work together. Certain tasks, as we must understand, would not bear efficient results if taken up by a single individual. Putting up a team of about 10 individuals enabled Ziyaan to produce new, more sustainable napkins that met his target audience's needs. These new napkin packages were:
Durable for at least 3 years
100% biodegradable
Came with an undergarment for menstruators who could not afford any
Waterproof bag
5-8 Liners which could be washed and re-used, and 2 wing pad bases, all reusable
Two major things that stood out with these napkins is that they were not only embarrassment-free but free of charge to communities that really needed them.
But that is not all
Simply providing napkins would not solve a problem in the long run. Ziyaan took the initiative to set up activities, educative, and mentorship sessions that would help menstruators learn more about the natural process and how to contain it. These sessions included;
A skills transfer session - Classes on how to stitch, use the pad, and how to wash it. These skills were sharable even to other members of the community, not necessarily through Ziyaan and his team, but the young women who had already been taught
Empowerment sessions that helped build confidence, emotional and mental stability in these young women, especially those who may have been previously stigmatized
Major Successes
For the Menstruator has been able to support over 8000 menstruators worldwide, with a vast majority being located in Kenya and Tanzania. However, the organization is motivated to do more by the mere fact that the figure is nothing compared to the 500 million figure released by the World Health Organization
The initiative has over 140 youths working with Ziyaan; a great achievement considering the fact that he begun alone
It has garnered over 500,000 engagements thus far
Held the first-ever international period month with United State’s Operation Periods where over 30 organizations were involved
Held over 50 events aimed at achieving its end goal
Among the successes are special awards to the Founder and CEO; Ziyaan Virji. These include; The Princess Diana Award and the Top 5 Global Social Leaders Project. He also won the Dragons Den belt for Change. Ziyaan has been featured on BBC among many stations and newspapers.
So, back to square one; how can YOU begin?
From Ziyaan to you: Here is a model you can use to begin:
Identify the problem: What is the problem and why is it a problem? What is the root cause of this problem?
Research and Solution: Involves in-depth assessment of the matter and most importantly, finding out whether someone is doing anything about it or not. If so, what is being done? How different can your contribution be and are you able to collaborate with the existing initiative?
Needs Assessment: Where do you want to work? Why that particular area? Has someone set up something there? Do the people really need your product or service? If so, what is the level of their need? How can you modify your product or service to meet their need?
Problem-solving: Is there an organization you can partner with? How do you plan to reach out? Has your product or service been tested and proven to meet the needs of your reach?
Building Relationships: How will you relate with your audience? How can you engage with them to build trust and promote your product or service? Considering this will also help you learn more about their issue
The Monetary Aspect: Selling Sharwamas at school?
Fundraise: Most of Ziyaan's target community does not pay a cent for the sanitary packages. His first input into the organization came from selling shawarmas at his highschool in Kenya
Supplying to other organizations: It's important to stay in touch with organizations who may be interested in your line of impact. For Ziyaan, this relationship enabled him to supply his re-usable sanitary products hence generating a large amount of finances to inject back into the project
But Remember:
Fundraising is not sustainable. Mr. Virji suggests working on a sustainable business model that enables your initiative or project to be self-sufficient in the long run. This may require;
Mentors: It is imperative that you have a strong body of advisers who can lead you through the process, especially when moving towards self-sufficiency
Well, The Column hopes to write about your success story one day. We'd love to see your milestones, awards, and great achievements. Keep doing what you do. If you have not started, you no longer have a reason not to start.
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