Chausiku Foundation

We

will use the funds to,

1. Build 30 sanitary pads vending machines where by one vending machine costs 3.5 million Tsh and install them in 30 schools in rural areas of the southern highlands of Tanzania. i.e Mbeya, Iringa and Njombe where by more than 3000 young girls will benefit. The funds will assist in buying the sanitary pads where by one girl is to use 3 pieces of sanitary napkins per day.

Funds will also assist in transporting the machines to the their destinations to be installed, also in planning,management and monitoring and evaluation of the project

2. Start menstrual hygiene groups in these schools and educate girls and boys on menstrual health and hygiene to enable them to overcome taboos and misconceptions about menstruation.

Funds will also assist in publishing menstrual health and hygiene magazines to be distributed in schools to create more awareness on menstruation

My name is David Msemwa, 25 years old Tanzanian and an engineer in electronics and communications. on my final year of university we built an automatic sanitary pads vending machine which dispenses sanitary napkins by the use of either fingerprints or registered cards.

Building a vending machine is a step towards our vision of eliminating period poverty and enable sustainable development goals. by having vending machines installed in schools we are ensured that young girls will attend school without fear of lack of pads as they menstruate, thus increasing their participation in class and in social, cultural and economic activities.

Our organization is determined to ensure that there are as many vending machines in schools to enable girls to access free sanitary pads. Girls in rural areas get to walk a long distance from home to school and once they get their menstrual periods at school without sanitary pads its devastating and this has led to school dropouts because of the shame they face.

we wish to provide education on menstrual health and hygiene to both genders. to overcome the misconceptions regarding menstrual hygiene and by doing so we will be able to empower women in attaining sustainable development goals

At Chausiku foundation the problem we are solving is period poverty. Globally, a minimum of 500 million women experiences period poverty, every month. In 2018, Tanzania’s government reported that 60% of women live in “absolute poverty.” This has led to the lack of proper sanitation and hygiene.

Period poverty in Tanzania affects many
women and girls who don’t have access to safe, hygienic sanitary
products, and who are unable to manage their periods due to community
stigma. statistics according to UNICEF shows that 1 in t10 girls miss school for a period of 3-5 days due to menstrual challenges, that is 20% of a school calendar year.

Chausiku Foundation, seeks to empower young women in Tanzania
to reach their full potential and see them become strong leaders in
their communities through overcoming menstrual challenges. However, one of the main obstacles to the educational
and professional growth of these young women is the traditionally taboo
subject of menstruation. That is why Chausiku Foundation provides education on menstrual health and hygiene among many other things like building vending machines which dispenses sanitary pads which are installed in ladies toilets, creating a much safer space to handling menstruation.

In a technology driven world, we look to solve problems with technological innovations.

There is a problem of lack of sanitary pads in our community and schools but this is due to the fact that they are expensive and a poor distribution system. Young girls at schools in rural areas have to walk a long distance in search for sanitary pads and they also have to face the shopkeepers to get these pads.

our solution to this is an automatic sanitary pad vending machine which is locally made, user friendly and private, where by young girls will find them in  toilets installed and packed with pads, all they have to do is place a finger and access pads.

The machines provide real time data on every transaction done on the machine. Therefore, with this advantage donors will know the exact amount of pads used and that the required beneficiaries have benefited. 

Education on menstrual health can be done through focus groups and through animations created by our organization from stories that are faced by the young girls on ground level to help them resonate and understand how to overcome these challenges.

Challenges that woman have been facing in different operation such as  refugee camps, detention centers, schools, and workplaces that affect the way periods are dealt with directly affect human rights. With too little support to handle their periods, women and girls have reported staying home from school, missing work, banishment by families, and humiliating treatment in their communities. People who work in development and aid organizations may see this bad treatment but lack effective tools to address it.

With Chausiku sanitary vending machine and the awareness  will help women and girls access sanitary pads in times of emergency and need in affordable price for everyone included but also the awareness and research done by Chausiku foundation will help shade more light to the challenges and use a human rights framework to bring these problems to light, and resolve them.