Awareness
Ujaas is a social endeavour by the women, of the women & for the women of the country. We empower them and push towards combating problems related to menstrual health.
We aim to empower adolescents and communities through direct interventions alongside capacity-building of frontline workers, teachers, and other key stakeholders who closely engage with adolescents. By combining these efforts, we strengthen systems and ensure sustainable knowledge and long-term impact.
Period Mela
Period Mela is an interactive initiative designed to normalise conversations around menstruation and improve awareness, access, and emerging agency among adolescents. Adaptable for both school and community settings, it features engaging stalls such as displays of different period products, a snakes-and-ladders game to explore myths, facts, and good practices, and a stall that builds knowledge on different ways to relieve period pain. The objective of the Period Mela is to spread awareness and educate girls about their bodies, health, and menstrual hygiene in an engaging and fun manner, using a gamified approach that ensures a memorable and informative learning experience. By building knowledge, confidence, and openness among adolescents, the Mela lays the foundation for more informed choices and healthier practices over time. Conducted across districts including Chandrapur, Amravati, Latur, and multiple blocks in Jalna, it has reached diverse groups of adolescents across Maharashtra.
Let's Talk Red
Let’s Talk Red is a dialogue and reflection platform focused on strengthening conversations and action around menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM). The event brings together adolescents and stakeholders working with young people to share field experiences, discuss challenges related to menstruation, and explore ways to build more structured and inclusive MHM programs. The platform aims to collectively develop recommendations to improve menstrual health awareness, strengthen program approaches, and create sustainable support systems that enable adolescents to manage menstruation with confidence and dignity.
Menstrual Health Express
Our on-wheels Menstrual Health Express takes the talk directly to undeserved communities across India. The mobile unit serves as a safe space for learning, dialogue, and distribution, ensuring that geography is never a barrier to menstrual health.
Access
We ensure affordable, quality menstrual products reach those who need them most through community distribution, partnerships, and local networks. Ensuring that periods are managed safely.
Bridging the gap between education and affordability for all menstruators.
Following the awareness sessions, the program works to ensure that every schoolgirl has access to sanitary napkins, helping her manage menstruation with dignity and confidence.
Sustainability
We actively engage Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to localize production, distribution, and education around menstrual health. Creating livelihoods while ensuring health access for all.
UJAAS, an initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, aims to promote sustainable livelihoods for members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) while addressing the critical issue of menstrual hygiene.
As part of this effort, Ujaas Green, a cloth sanitary pad manufacturing unit, was established to create livelihood opportunities for women and promote environmentally sustainable menstrual hygiene products. The initiative was developed through strategic partnerships with donors and government agencies which supported the establishment and operationalisation of the unit.
The unit was officially launched on 13 February 2024, providing sustainable livelihood opportunities for 20 SHG women. Through this initiative, women are engaged in the production of reusable cloth sanitary pads, contributing to both income generation and the promotion of eco-friendly menstrual hygiene solutions.
Ujaas Green leverages the collective strength of Self-Help Groups to advance women’s empowerment by building skills, strengthening financial literacy, and fostering collective support systems. By enabling women to participate in income-generating activities, the initiative encourages them to take greater control of their financial well-being.
Period Sakhi
The Period Sakhi initiative is rooted in the philosophy of women’s economic empowerment, leadership, and climate-conscious health access. Anchored in the principle of ‘for women, by women, sold by women’, this initiative envisions a model where women lead the change on menstrual health, economically, socially, and environmentally. Pad manufactured by SHG women are then sold within the community by Period Sakhis, local women who not only earn a commission for each packet sold but also act as champions for menstrual health and dignity. This dual income model ensures that both the SHG and the Period Sakhis benefit financially, creating a cycle of shared prosperity.
