Queen's Qode

The World Bank asserts that 500 million people worldwide lack access to basic menstrual health products, education and hygiene bathroom facilities during their menstrual cycle (menstrual or period poverty). SNV Zimbabwe published that about 62% of girls in Zimbabwe miss school during their ‘periods’, the largest proportion of them being from marginalised and rural areas. Sanitary ware is deemed a luxury. Period poverty creates discriminatory social taboos and gender stereotypes resulting from stigma associating menstruation with dirt and unhygienic practices. As a result, many girls go through their period with shame, and have their confidence undermined, especially when they ‘spoil’ their clothes during a period and get jeered by male colleagues and other peers, resulting in them staying away from school during their menstrual cycles. Furthermore, lack of access to an affordability of sanitary ware places them in a predicament as they improvise using cloths, torn panties and other non-conventional materials as sanitary pads. Moreover, limited affordability to buy underwear and worse still clean period underwear is not a reality for many disadvantaged girls. In addition, some suffer from menstrual cramps limiting their ability to attend schools and with some resorting to drug and substance abuse to relieve the pain or they have to miss class, with no catch-up lessons being organised for the parts they would have missed. In addition, limited access to clean water compromises menstrual hygiene. Menstrual shaming and bullying are subjects not often discussed but with huge implications on the well being of the girl child. Limited knowledge on the use and disposal of sanitary pads remains a key challenge among girls, worse for the rural girls.

The government of Zimbabwe instituted the legal framework for Menstrual Health within the Education Amendment Act 2 of March 2020, through which the government pledged to ensure the provision of sanitary wear and other menstrual health facilities to girls in all schools. In addition, they pledged to appoint sexual and reproductive health personnel in schools to enhance Menstrual Health delivery in Zimbabwean schools. A budget was allocated for the initiative during the same year. However, the situation on the ground remains dire with civic society together with private sector taking it upon themselves to do the little they can on limited resources to try and solve the challenge and complement government efforts.

 

“Queen’s Qode” is an online digital platform that provides knowledge, peer support on Menstrual Health and access to sanitary pads for girls in secondary schools. The Queen’s Qode will use chatbots on WhatsApp and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). The platform seeks to solve the following issues contributing to high period poverty in Zimbabwe:

The schools’ module (for the teachers to support girls)

• Train teachers on period counselling and support for the girls
• Training on menstrual hygiene to impart knowledge to learners
• Connection to administration module to source sanitary pads for the girls when supplies dwindle
• Training on the manufacture of reusable sanitary pads for the school and also income generation
• Training on period shaming and bullying
• Distribution of sanitary pads and panties to learners
• Menstrual hygiene support groups for experience sharing
• Peer education to counter period shaming and bullying

The schools’ module (for the girls to support each other including rural and non-rural to offer peer to peer support). This will be supported by face-to-face periodic workshops through mental Health clubs which we have started establishing in schools.

 

The administration module

• Fundraising platform to secure capital for the manufacture of reusable pads for distribution and to sell some to make this a sustainable business
• Provide a fundraising platform to secure donations of sanitary pads for the under privileged with a bias towards reusable pads
• Sourcing resource for period underwear from local and international sources including GoFundMe
• Source painkillers for period cramps
• Fundraising for female friendly toilets

Who

Economically Disadvantaged girls especially rural areas and peri urban schools

 

What ways will solution impact them

The solution will solve challenges by making a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as follows:

• SDG1 reduction of economic and social poverty among rural girls as they get training on how to make their own sanitary pads and sell the excess
• SDG 4 Gender Equality by ensuring that girls counter period and economic poverty and stay in school.
• SDG 1 reduction in poverty by empowering girls and rural communities to reduce donor dependency syndrome and ensure sustainability in line with SDG 11 on Sustainable cities and economies.
• SDG 3 on good health and well being by imparting Life skills training and psycho social support for confidence and resilience building.

Target population you want to empower directly

 

At least 200 girls in rural and semi urban areas, that is for the first phase of the project, with the possibility to upscale and reach at least 1,000 girls within the next 2 years and then 100,000 girls in 5 years once the technology and systems are well established and funded.

 

How are they currently underserved

• Lack of access to sanitary pads
• Lack of access to clean sanitary panties
• No knowledge on menstrual hygiene
• Victims of period bullying
• Poverty and limited food security

 

How will solution address their needs

• Girls will be able to access sanitary wear and also receive education on menstrual health and hygiene
• Girls will develop confidence and a sense of self worth and ability to thrive against period bullying
• Girls will be taught an entrepreneurship skill to help counter poverty and associated challenges like early marriages to skip poverty
• The standard of living will be improved as they can afford to further their studies as they earn an income
• Food security and nutrition will be enhanced with disposable incomes

• Collaboration for the SDGs (SDG 17): We are the Youth Connect club of Monte Cassino Girls High School in rural Macheke town of Zimbabwe. We work with an organisation called Women in Farming and Entrepreneurship (WIFE) which stands for the total emancipation of women and the youth for resilience and food security. One of the organization’s flagship projects entails imparting Life skills training and psycho social support to the youth, especially girls and also entrepreneurship training to counter poverty and ensure that girls get a good education and experience a better standard of living. The project is establishing mental health clubs in schools to foster peer to peer support including between the poor and the well-off schools. We are the pilot club under the project. We have come up with a solution called the Queen’s Qode to advance menstrual health and well-being of rural girls in surrounding areas.

• Root cause analysis: the proposed solution takes a holistic view of the problem of period poverty, so as to impart sustainable solutions. Period poverty is a result of economic poverty which affects the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional being of the girl child and limits their potential in life. The solution thus seeks a 360 degrees approach to ensure the rural girl gets sanitary ware (which they make on their own), education on sanitary health and confidence building and can get a better life from selling sanitary wear and can thus proceed with school beyond just secondary school due to poverty.
• Remove dependency syndrome: most initiatives around sanitary wear place emphasis on mobilising donations of sanitary wear which is not sustainable. It is better to teach someone how to fish than give them fish to eat today. Therefore, this project will empower girls for a lifetime.

The project will empower poor girls in surrounding communities (within 50kms radius). The school is located in rural Macheke with surrounding communities of poor people some of which work on farms and others subsistence farmers.

 

The problem approaches the challenge of menstrual poverty from a unique perspective of using a challenge to empower the girl child whilst solving a problem. Many competitors have focused on mobilising donations and ad hoc education on menstrual hygiene whilst this solution will focus on the holistic person and challenges affecting the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well being of a girl. The solution will counter youth unemployment as well which is estimated at 93%. There is potential to upscale and impact a significant portion of girls who constitute 57% of the youthful population. The project has capacity to create decent jobs for the youth while tackling issues of climate change associated with disposal of sanitary ware which is not reusable (the majority of it on the market right now).

Existing technologies will be used to deliver a 360 degree solution towards both social and economic challenges faced by rural girls.

*To Provide digital access to 10 000 adolescent girls by September 2028.

* To access digital online services and support systems that actively promote mental health.

* Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

* Access to quality menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) information services.

* To change periods from being a societal norm to being a way of life 

HOW TO ACHIEVE THEM

*Due to the world being digitalized, more people will easily access this platform as such we would reach out to other girls and NGO's. 

* Through campaigns, walks and service in rural areas.

*Have mental health sessions on how handle periods, bullying and be hygienic at the same time starting from primary schools within 50km radius.

 

PROJECT SUMMARY

INDICATORS

MEANS OF VERIFICATION

IMPACT

To Provide digital access to 10 000 adolescent girls by September 2028 so they can access digital online services, and support systems that actively promote mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and access to quality menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) information services.

PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS USING DIGITAL SOLUTION TO IMPROVE THEIR SEXUAL & MENTSTRUAL HEALTH

• LOCAL AUTHORITY / MINISTRY OF IT/ MINISTRY OF HEALTH  RECORDS

OUTCOMES

10 000 Adolescent girls have and are using digital tools to access sexual, mental, HIV/AIDS and menstrual health services.

PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS USING DIGITAL SOLUTION TO IMPROVE THEIR SEXUAL & MENTSTRUAL HEALTH

• Community surveys
• Questionnaires
• Government & private sector reports
• Attendance registers & training reports
• Procurement of hardware / software
• Acquisition/erection of structures
• Recruitment of support staff
• Training of target demographic to use digital resources to improve mental, sexual & menstrual health
• Percentage increase in number of communities reached
• Percentage increase in number of target demographic realising value from the digital system
• Community surveys
• Government & private sector reports
• Attendance registers & training reports

OUTPUTS

• Every year, 2 000 Adolescent girls have and are using digital tools to access sexual, mental, HIV/AIDS and menstrual health services.
• Percentage increase in number of communities reached
• Percentage increase in number of target demographic realising value from the digital system
• Community surveys
• Government & private sector reports
• Attendance registers & training reports

ACTIVITIES

INPUTS

• Human resources 2.  Financial resources 3. Technical resources 4. Government resources 5. For awareness campaigns and training sessions