ORGANIZATIONS PARTNER ON SPORTS CURRICULUM FOR MENSTRUAL HEALTH
Every day, roughly 800 million girls and women around the world have their period. Nevertheless, in some parts of the world, this normal bodily function is viewed as taboo and the consequences — from the loss of educational and economic opportunities, to social exclusion and a number of possible health complications — can be dire.
Common Goal, WASH United and Slum Soccer have teamed up to develop, test and implement an innovative curriculum that will use soccer to educate girls on how to manage their periods safely, hygienically and with confidence. The Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Education Guide will reach over 2,200 girls across India, using the power of sport to empower young girls to become changemakers in their own community.
Menstruation is met with silence in India. Over half of all girls have no knowledge of what is happening to their bodies during their first period, and as many as 1 in 4 girls will not attend school due to menstruation. It is only with the knowledge of what menstruation entails, and how to manage it hygienically, that girls can be empowered to take charge themselves.
In light of these challenges, Common Goal, WASH United and Slum Soccer are building the capacity of community organisations in India working on female empowerment with an emphasis on sex education and menstrual care by giving them tools that incorporate sport to enhance lessons.
The MHM initiative was selected in April 2018 as one of the two signature projects that the organisation will support this year. The shared skills, resources and expertise generated in the project will amplify both the impact and the reach in India. It is supported by 20 Common Goal players and managers who have pledged 1% of their salaries to fund high-impact organisations that harness the power of soccer to advance the UN SDGs.
The project on menstrual hygiene management in India is led by WASH United, an innovative non-profit and 2012 Beyond Sport Global Award winner in the Sport for Health category. After successfully creating a similar product through a human-centered design process in East Africa in 2016, WASH United will adapt, develop and test this tool, together with Slum Soccer, in Nagpur, India, to ensure that it is effective in the specific cultural context.
Following the developments in Nagpur, the guide will be shared with three organizations in the network of Common Goal’s parent organization, streetfootballworld: Yuwa, Dream a Dream, and OSCAR Foundation. Yuwa works directly with girls in rural India, Dream a Dream works with teachers, and OSCAR with young leaders on the ground.
The benefits of MHM education are immense: girls are able to participate fully in public life, they no longer face the risk of falling behind in school, or to suffer from preventable infections. The program directly contributes towards the fulfilment to three of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (3, 4 & 5).