Activity Report 2021

Project Report India

 

In 2021 we were able to continue and expand our work and projects of the last years. We continued to supply the students of our now ten selected schools with both disposable and reusable sanitary napkins. In view of the Corona pandemic, this became more difficult - the existing distribution structures had to be revised and adapted to new hygiene and safety concepts. In this way, we were able to secure the supply of monthly hygiene products for all schoolgirls.

Furthermore, all schools integrated in the Kanya's Chance project are located in Anand County, India. The sanitary napkin distribution to female students aged 12 to 15 years is now done by the teachers of the respective schools. They hand out the sanitary pads to the female students individually in the school. In exceptional cases, the teacher delivers the sanitary pads to the schoolgirls' homes.

At the end of 2021, we successfully completed our two-year Reusable Sanitary Napkins project in cooperation with Rotary International. For two years, we jointly provided reusable sanitary napkins and education to 4000 female students at 215 primarily rural schools in Anand.

We as Kanya's Chance e.V. work with Tribhuvandas Foundation as well as Rotary Club of Anand Round Town. We purchase the disposable sanitary pads through the Tribhuvandas Foundation. This allows us to benefit from a sanitary napkin price of around 6€ per student per year (depending on exchange rate and quantity ordered). For the reusable sanitary pads, we work together with Unipads and can thus contribute to providing the best possible products suitable for the students. The reusable pads cost us 3€ per student per year.

 

Online pub quiz

On the occasion of World Women*s Day on March 08, we as Kanya's Chance e.V. organized an online pub quiz for the first time on March 13, 2021. Kathrin Bärnklau, Lena Schindler, Berenike Kern and Laura Gebert created quiz questions on topics around menstruation and feminism and led through the evening. 14 teams competed and were able to test and expand their knowledge.

 

Alumni Award 2021

We are very pleased to have been awarded the Charité Alumni Prize 2021 and to have received it, represented by Harit Patel and Lena Schindler, on 20.06.2021 during the Charité graduation ceremony. The awarding of the prize in the amount of 1.500€ was done by Dr. Kawka, board member of the Almuni Association, who addressed some words of greeting to the association at the hybrid event. Afterwards, Lena Schindler was allowed to briefly present the work of our association in a live broadcast to the graduates and all those present, including the Dean of the Charité Prof. Dr. Axel Radlach Pries.

 

General meeting

 On July 25, 2021, our 5th Ordinary General Meeting took place. 10 members attended the general meeting. The board elected in 2020 was discharged. After the board elections for the year 2021 we could welcome the following persons in their offices:

1st board: Rabea Gatz (unanimously elected)
2nd board: Lena Schindler (unanimously elected)
Treasurer: Philipp Lange (unanimously elected)
Secretary: Berenike Kern (unanimously elected)
Vice-Chairman: Stefan Grifka (unanimously elected)
Vice-Chairman: Lion Weiß (unanimously elected)

The Ordinary General Meeting took place during a joint club weekend with intensive workshops and team-building events at Lake Liepniz in Brandenburg, accompanied by music and a meal together afterwards.

Medimeisterschaften 2021

After the Medimeisterschaften, the annual festival of medical students in Germany, could only take place in an online format last year due to Corona, the joy was all the greater when it went to the Medis again this year. In September 2021, we were again represented at the Medimeisterschaften, as part of the #NURPfand initiative. As in previous years, we from Kanya's Chance e.V. collected can deposits for a good cause together with students from other social organizations. The proceeds from collected 69000 cans will be divided among all organizations.

In addition, we participated in the cultural program and held an interactive chai workshop where we prepared traditional chai with the participants and reported about our work in India.

 

Teaching workshop on menstruation

As in the previous year, we conducted a Teacher Training Workshop on menstruation in September 2021. Dr. Kesha Salvi, a gynecologist, trained the teachers on menstruation so that they can now incorporate the materials well into their lessons and share their knowledge effectively. Also, the current pedagogical methods and innovative games are gone through together with the teachers to ensure a well-structured education in a relaxed, shame-free atmosphere for teachers and students. We have already trained 200 teachers in effective and sensitive education on menstruation.

 

Menstruation Quiz

The Education Team developed a short quiz about menstruation in order to playfully check and thus consolidate the knowledge about menstruation conveyed by our educational presentation and booklet. This is freely available on our website to learn the most important facts about menstruation in just a few minutes. So far, the quiz has been translated into German, English and Gujarati. Other languages are to follow.

 

Funding from the Apobank Foundation 

In 2021, we were also able to implement a project to promote hygiene conditions and health understanding among school students* in India through a grant from the apoBank Foundation. The project was divided into three sub-areas. First, we held hygiene trainings and workshops for our partner schools. Furthermore, we prepared menstrual care packages with soothing teas and warming pain patches for the students.

As the final and most important step of this project, we planned to expand and improve the conditions of the toilets in the schools we serve.

For this, we decided to provide much-needed resources, such as trash cans or lighting, which were installed by a plumber and the school staff. In total, we were able to improve the toilets at three schools and install a new water system (i.e. a drinking water system) at a fourth school.