Hybrid Sanitary Napkin for Economic Change

Dzaleka, the largest refugee camp in Malawi, is home to around 52,000 refugees. We learned that one of the refugee girls’ biggest challenges is their limited access to reliable materials to use during menstruation. The girls often miss 4-5 days of school each month during their menstrual cycle. Therefore, they will miss 300 instructional days before they turn 18, which is equivalent to 1 ½  school years. These gaps will not only affect the girls’ performance on national exams, they will pull them away from their academic goals and toward a domestic role, leaving the girls dependent and powerless. 

Currently, there are two other menstrual products available for women to use at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads. However, neither of these products are viable solutions. The World Health Organization recommends 20L of water per day, but residents live on less than half. Due to the significant water shortage at the camp, water is a precious resource that the girls’ family cannot afford to sacrifice to wash reusable pads. Disposable pads are given to the girls as part of their refugee rations, but the pads are often exchanged to provide food for the family. In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. This project sets out to solve a lack of sanitary care that is keeping girls in Dzaleka from achieving their educational goals, and limiting their opportunity to be economically independent.

After connecting with Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi and hearing the challenges the female students faced to stay in school due to their menstrual cycles, we designed a hybrid sanitary napkin which is partly reusable and partly disposable. We engaged the end users of this product - the girls living at the refugee camp - as research partners in the design of this product. The design considers the water shortage and the lack of sanitary ways of disposing waste at the refugee camp. After three different iterations, we came up with a final design of a hybrid pad which requires significantly less water than reusable pads, while limiting the amount of disposable waste. Our hybrid pad is now currently USA Patent Pending (Application # 63147464). We have also applied for a design and utility patent. During the fall of 2021, 18 teen girls living at Dzaleka were trained in how to produce and sell the pad. By the end of In January 2022, there were 1,000 pads on the market at Dzaleka, which provided a menstrual solution for 200 women. In March 2022, we began to work with NGOs in Malawi who provide menstrual products and menstrual education to teen girls so they’re able to manage their periods and attend school. Currently, we have orders for 600 pads from three different NGOs and the production of these pads are underway at Dzaleka.

Our target population is the girls of menstrual age from Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi. Their biggest challenge is their limited access to menstrual materials. The girls’ way of coping with menstruation is often to miss 4-5 days of school each month during their menstrual cycle. By the time they turn 18 they will miss 300 instructional days or 1 ½  school years. Their absence from school affects the girls’ performance on national exams and pulls them away from their academic goals toward a domestic role. There are two menstrual products available for women to use at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads, neither of which are aqueduct solutions. The reusable pads require a lot of water for washing which is not feasible due to the significant water shortage. Disposable pads are given to the girls as part of their refugee rations; however, they are often exchanged to provide food for the family. In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. Our part-reusable-part disposable design considers the restrictions of the camp and therefore requires significantly less water than reusable pads, while limiting the amount of disposable waste. Furthermore, implementing the pad into a larger initiative gives the opportunity for a source of income for refugee teens. The pad is now more than a means to keep girls in school; it is a route for women to learn a skill and earn a living.

WISSP has a deeply rooted 4-year relationship with Dzaleka through six different projects, one of which being the hybrid sanitary napkin.  This exposure to various aspects of life at the camp provides valuable and insightful information and a connection to more on the ground partners. Teen girls living at the camp tested the product in their environment and gave feedback on the product at various points during the design process.In addition, we tap into other expertise within our school community and seek consulting advice from professionals working in marketing, web design, and product development. Furthermore, we have the intention to travel to Dzaleka in June 2022 to see how the project model has been implemented to meet their needs on the ground in Dzaleka. The skills and perspectives of our team fit well with the end-user as this product is designed for women by women.

Please see the following videos for further details about the product and production.

   Video on training: https://youtu.be/HOrp8cl9Moc

How product was developed: https://youtu.be/4KOPEFRX4UU

Testimonials from teen girls living at Dzaleka: https://youtu.be/kkG2pt1mTP0

• Scale, operations: production and distribution, partnering with NGOs to distribute. We need help identifying key NGOs who currently provide menstrual products to school girls, and help developing a partnership to use the WISSP pad instead of the current product they are using. We need to understand what’s in it for them to partner with us, and how do we set up a long term partnership that is manageable.

• We need help developing partnerships with local fabric stores to stock and sell the materials needed to produce the pad 

• We need help creating various job descriptions for on-the-ground support in Malawi (seamstresses, production trainers, distribution contact person, etc.)

Prior to the WISSP pad, there were two menstruation protection options at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads. Neither were practical solutions for the women living in the camp’s low resource environment. The reusable pads require water for washing, but there is a significant water shortage at the camp. Residents live on less than half of the 20L of water  per day that the World Health Organization recommends. Water is a precious resource that families cannot afford to sacrifice to wash menstrual pads. 30 disposable pads are given to women each quarter as part of their refugee rations. This isn’t enough to cover the menstrual needs, and the pads are often exchanged at the market for food.  In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. The WISSP pad addresses the practicalities and limitations at the camp. The hybrid design of the WISSP pad is unique as one part is reusable and one part is disposable. It provides menstrual protection while limiting water use and the number of disposable pads that get put into the limited sanitation system.

While the WISSP pad provides a tested menstrual solution to women living at the camp, the product is only one aspect of our solution. WISSP has positioned the pad inside an economic infrastructure. Currently, teen girls at Dzaleka are producing and selling the WISSP pad after going through sewing and business training. As they use the materials and tools provided, they are learning new skills and are gradually gaining economic independence as they sell the product for profit at the market. The opportunity for women to sell the hybrid pad (a product that keeps girls in school) is not only beneficial as a source of income, but it is also giving women more confidence as they use their marketing and communicative skills. Women are growing their skills, producing an income, and expanding their dreams. 

In the fall of 2021, 18 teen girls were trained in the sewing/selling of 1,000 pads which provided a menstrual solution for 200 girls. The next round of funding will support the next cohort of teen sewer/sellers, further increasing the skill level of the teens living at the camp, establishing the product in the market as a valuable menstrual solution, and gaining a better understanding of the impact on the community. As WISSP gathers this information, we will refine the training curriculum and create a plan to acquire corporate sponsors whose social responsibility goals fit with WISSP’s mission of providing a practical menstrual solution and economic opportunities for women living in a low resource community. We have identified where materials for the pads can be sourced locally, and we have secured on-the-ground partners to support this project (Jesuit Refugee Services and Rosten’s Tailoring School located in the refugee camp).

Future goals:

2023 = $ 15K to provide a menstrual solution to 100 girls for 6 years

2024 = $ 30K to provide a menstrual solution to 500 girls for 6 years

2025 = $150K to provide a menstrual solution to 1,000 girls for 6 years

2026 = $ 600K to provide a menstrual solution to 4,000 girls for 6 years

• Measuring the ability to source required materials locally, train the required number of seamstresses to meet demand, efficiency distributing product through partnerships with NGOs

• Feedback from users

• Compare school attendance for girls (see improvement in attendance over time)

• Tracking where seamstresses spend their income (how they/if they invest money back into the community/their family

• Reengaging female students: teenage girls can go to school during the menstrual cycles every month

• Gaining back 1.5 school years from age 12 to 18

• Tracking where seamstresses spend their income (how they/if they invest money back into the community/their family

Product: https://youtu.be/K6JAYf0jWao

Technology was used extensively in the development and production of the product. When the product was being developed, WISSP met teen girls living at the refugee camp on iPads that were connected to zoom to get feedback on the product as the teens tested it out in their low-resource environment. Shared Google documents were used to collect data, and a variety of other software (PowerPoint, adobe products) were used to document and draw various versions of the pad. Once the pad design was solidified, sewing machines, both manual (in Malawi) and electric (in USA), were used to produce the product. Video, photos, and iMovie were used to document the process of sewing the pad. The technology enabled us to develop clear instructions on how to make the product that could be communicated to refugees living at Dzaleka, Malawi. In addition, WISSP uses WhatApp to communicate regularly with the tailoring school at Dzaleka where the pads are being produced, Jesuit Refugee Services who are supporting the teens girls who are sewing and selling the product, and the business trainer who is helping the teen girls learn how to run a small business. Technology played a central role connecting the two sites WISSP (in USA) and Dzaleka (the refugee camp in Malawi) for all aspects of the product from development to production.

Product: https://youtu.be/K6JAYf0jWao

Currently, we are implementing activities at Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa District, Malawi. The camp hosts a population of 52,000 in a facility originally planned for 12,000 people. Residents originate from DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. 65% of Dzaleka children are enrolled in school, leaving 35% without access to formal education. Camp schools also cater for Malawian children from surrounding villages (15% of student population). The power dynamics are male dominated. It is a patriarchal culture. Our project provides the materials (a quality menstrual product to keep girls secure during menstruation so they can attend school) and the means (skills training to produce a product that can earn an income) to give power to marginalized people. Our project lifts up refugee teen girls, empowering them to participate in the economy and thereby strengthen their community.

Now that we have a sustainable, reliable, and environmentally responsible menstrual product to keep teen girls in school who are living in a low-resource community  (currently USA Patent Pending Application # 63147464), and we’ve created a production model for teen girls to make the product at Dzaleka, we are looking to expand our distribution model so the pad can reach girls in need and eliminate school absenteeism due to menstruation. 

The business model is to have refugee teen girls produce the WISSP pad at the Dzaleka tailoring school, and sell their product to NGOs that support girls' education. We will need to engage local partners in the training, production, and distribution of the WISSP pad, which will provide meaningful employment to many refugee women. 

The materials and production of the pad will be supported with grant funding from USA corporations through their Corporate Social Responsibility goals. The teen seamstresses will earn an income by selling to NGOs who currently buy and distribute menstrual products. The end user, teen girls living in a low-resource community, will have a reliable, sustainable menstrual product that will provide them with the protection they need to attend school during their menstrual cycle. 

We use donations, grants, and funding from our partners to run the program: buy raw materials and run sewing/business training for teen girls. We are going to pitch to corporations and micro retailers whose visions and missions are similar to ours to look for potential partnerships and funding. Once the girls can produce the product on their own, they can sell them and achieve financial independence themselves and potentially provide for their families.

• Orders of more than 600 pads from NGOs who provide period products to underserved Malawian teens

• Funding from MasterCard Foundation, Faherty, Whalebone, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb

• Grants from Innovation Competitions: The Lemonade Stand contest (Grand Prize Winners), MIT Solve Youth Innovation Challenge(Finalists Feb 2022)