Working to End Period Poverty: An Interview with Aanya Patel

Aanya Patel is the founder of Global Girls Initiative, a non-profit organization created with the goal of ending period poverty for all menstruators by providing free menstrual products and education to youth in underserved communities.

What inspired you to start Global Girls Initiative? 

It started when I was in the 10th grade, our school required volunteer hours so to help decide what I wanted to do I signed up for a virtual forum where all these activists around the world talked about grassroots problems within their community. One that stuck out to me, was a grassroots activist from India who worked towards ending period poverty and introduced me to the idea that only 36% of girls in India had access to menstrual products, with a lot of these girls having to drop out of school because of this issue. After this, I talked to my school nurse and she mentioned that many girls in our school came to her asking for period products due to them not having access themselves. This shocked me as I realized this is not only an issue in third-world countries but also in my own school. So I started a GoFundMe to raise money to put period products in my nurse’s office to help girls in my school have easier access. After an ABC interview, Global Girls Initiative started to really take off and slowly I started recruiting organizations for donations and ended up collecting 50,000 period products, breaking my initial 1000 product donation goal. After this, I started expanding to other schools in my district and continued to grow. 

What gave you the idea to create your own menstrual hygiene dispenser?

The dispensers were created for easier student access, instead of donating products to nurses’ offices I decided I wanted to put dispensers in the bathrooms. So, I decided to work with the school district to achieve the necessary funding to place dispensers in the bathrooms in the schools of our district. After asking me what type of dispensers I wanted, I looked online and there weren’t many options for education’s limited budget and many could only dispense very little at a time which would not be effective for schools with thousands of students. This led me to work with some manufacturers to design a dispenser that has a larger capacity for period products, is cost-effective, and can dispense all types of period products so we are not stuck with a certain brand of products and that way, we can use other peoples donations to replenish the dispensers. 

What is the mission and vision of your organization and how has it evolved through the years?

The mission of Global Girls Initiative stayed mostly the same with it being to end period poverty and to provide free menstrual hygiene products and education to youth and students in underserved communities. The target audience has always been youth and students in underserved communities and has gone from just donating menstrual hygiene products to also reducing period stigma and providing menstrual education through educational workshops. 

What are your future goals for Global Girls Initiative?

The biggest goal is to expand the dispenser program and rather than working with individual schools, working with school districts or states. This will aid in the initiative working quicker, ensuring its sustainability and helping to create a greater impact.

What were some challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges was that I was very young when I started Global Girls Initiative at just 14 years old and I felt that a lot of people, while they admired what I did, did not take me as seriously because of my age. Another challenge was that it was a new thing for me, something I did not learn in school and there was no guide, so I had to explore these areas on my own and tackle them, figuring out logistics along the way. There were also, of course, financial challenges with funding like many other non-profit organizations.

Can you share a memorable story that affirmed the importance of your work?

Even though we mostly donate to schools, when I first started I got a direct message from our Instagram account and it was a single mother who reached out asking for period products for her and her daughters. She was so happy to receive the menstrual products and I was really happy I could hear her story as it motivated me and made me realize that I’m making a difference. It’s just a box of pads but it’s more than that, it’s helping these girls get to school.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own organization but is worried about financial sustainability or any other challenges that you mentioned?

Start small so it’s not as scary and continue to grow from there and know that there are so many grants available for nonprofits and organizations and options for financials such as GoFundMe. Reach out and form those connections, as you continue to meet more people and form more connections you will naturally continue to grow from there.    

Thank you for talking to us Aanya, we appreciate the important work you are doing to help end period poverty and reduce period stigma!

Click the link to check out Aanya’s website Global Girls Initiative https://globalgi.org/