Earlier in the year the Year 10 Global Perspectives class learned about the confronting issue of period poverty both here in Aotearoa and globally. We investigated the poverty cycle and considered how a lack of access to period products exacerbates that cycle and also impacts an individual’s self esteem.

As part of our investigation, we looked at organisations like The Pad Project who are empowering communities by donating pad machines and providing education to break the poverty cycle and end the stigma around menstruation. We were amazed by the power of the pad machine and what it gave women; taboo around periods was being broken, women had access to safe and affordable period products, and even more importantly the pad machines offered women in the community an opportunity to create income since they could sell the excess pads.

Despite the cost of period products, many of us have access to the products we need when we need them. We were shocked to discover that for some girls and women in Aotearoa, each period came with the steep cost of missing school or work. We decided we wanted to take action to help those in both our local and global communities, so we got straight to brainstorming ways we could make a difference. We had to plan our action meticulously given our limited time and think of aspects like cost, practicality, and overall impact. We ended up running two lucrative bake sales, a live music performance headlined by the talented Eris, and a school-wide period product drive. We increased engagement by having a prize for the Form or Whānau class who donated the most products in addition to house points. We also created informative posters and spoke at assembly to explain to our school community why period poverty and stigma surrounding periods is something we need to talk about and break.

The result was a total of over 200 products donated by students and staff that we boxed up and donated to local organisations including Presbyterian Support Otago, The Dunedin Night Shelter, and Pregnancy Help Dunedin. We had to make sure that the products we collected were what the organisations needed most, which involved calling them directly and carefully sorting through the generous donations. We also raised an incredible $608.70 through the bake sales and live music. We distributed the donations evenly amongst a combination of national and global organisations including Power of Pads, The Pad Project, The Period Place, and The Foodbank Project.

We were so blown away by the generosity of the Columba Community and want to thank everyone for their support and involvement. If you’re stuck for ideas on gifts for your loved ones this festive season, you might like to consider making a donation on their behalf.

Here are some organisations that are doing some amazing mahi that you might like to support:

Aotearoa based: The Period Place, The Foodbank Project, Dignity NZ , Foodbank.

International organisations: Power of Pads, Take Action - Alliance for Period Supplies, Helping Women Period, The Pad Project, PERIOD., The Marshall Project, Days for Girls.