Project Baala comes forward, distributes sanitary pads to women in Delhi slums

Just a few days ago, our reporters exposed the pathetic condition related to menstrual hygiene amongst women in slums in the heart of the national capital. These women from the under-privileged areas of New Delhi spoke about how they had never seen sanitary pads all their lives and how some had even lost their uteruses to poor menstrual hygiene.

Following these startling revelations, Project Baala, an NGO from Delhi came forward, did workshops in the slums that our reporters visited and distributed free sanitary pads to these women. These pads are safe for use and would last them for 2 years.

“I think one thing that really excited us about The Probe was it being one of the few journalist agencies that is doing Impact Journalism. It is one of the few media houses that is actually focusing on the impact instead of just talking about it,” said Aradhana Rai Gupta, the Co-Head of Project Baala.

“Working with the team at The Probe, we realised that they give a lot of importance to impact. They want to get stories from the ground and give a voice to the people that we are working with and that is something that is very exciting for us,” she added.

In places like Maharana Pratap Refugee Camp and Majnu Ka Tila Jhuggi in Delhi, where our reporters uncovered horrid conditions of menstrual hygiene, these volunteers from Project Baala not only distributed reusable sanitary pads, but they also held workshops to create awareness amongst women on the importance of menstrual hygiene.

Following The Probe’s Impact story on poor menstrual health, women in two Delhi slums received sanitary pads | The Probe

“I have often noticed these continue to re-use the same old dirty clothes during their periods. Some women use tree leaves, ash and many other things that are bad for their menstrual health. It really harms their body,” said Mohita Cheema, Project Manager at Project Baala.

“So far, over 70,000 women have been impacted through this project. Impact Journalism, I think is very important because even these slums were attached to the main city but we had no clue about the plight of these women,” said Saloni Rawat, a volunteer at Project Baala.

The Probe’s initiative aims to further bring in a change in the lives of many more women when it comes to their menstrual health. But for now, the smiles on the faces of these women have kept the flame of our Impact Journalism mission burning. We hope to collaborate with many more organizations like Project Baala towards making an impact on stories that truly matter to people.

Watch The Probe’s expose on menstrual hygiene of women in Delhi’s slums here.