Abhibyakti Research and Development Foundation (ARDF) working for Health, Education, Women, Children and Environment organized an awareness program on “Menstrual Health & Hygiene Management” at Kalinga Public School, Sector-2 Rourkela, on 24th August, 2022 (Wednesday). The program was witnessed by 55 girl students of classes 7 and 8 of the school. The sessions were taken up by Solomon Donald Maria, Tanisha Vishwakarma, Sencess Pradhan and Sunnapu Rishika (Volunteers of ARDF). The program was presided by Dr. Antarjeeta Nayak (Founder Director, ARDF). Dr. Ramakrishna Biswal (Research Advisor, ARDF & Asst. Professor at NIT Rourkela) Dr. Pramod Kumar and Mr. S.K Biswal, Kalinga Public School) also graced the program with their presence.

The Program started with an ice-breaking session by Dr. Antarajeeta Nayak who delivered and exchanged dialogues with the students to make them comfortable around the team as well as the program. After that, the volunteers started with a presentation by the name "Menstrupedia" which highlighted the questions like: 1.What is Menstruation? 2. What is Menstrual Hygiene? 3. How to use and dispose menstrual products. 4. What are the causes and effects of Unhealthy Menstrual habits? 5. Breaking the Menstrual myths. 6. Menstrual discomfort and how to reduce it. Solomon Donald Maria, started with a proper introduction about menstruation, which resulted in a burst of curiosity and students asked questions like "Why do only females bleed? Shall the periods continue till death? Responding to that, Dr. Antarajeeta Nayak, explained the process of menstruation in a detailed manner, which helped the students understand the basics of reproduction as well as menstruation.

Sencess Pradhan, exuberantly explained how to use different menstrual products. This segment was full of participation as well as she made the students aware of the proper disposal of the products. She helped the students learn about how some of the menstrual products can cause environmental pollution if not disposed of properly. She also demonstrated alternative solutions on how to become environment friendly along with maintaining menstrual hygiene. Then, Tanisha Vishwakarma, presented a verbal guide on how to tackle the irregularities in menstruation along with giving some ideas about different menstrual disorders like PCOD, PCOS and painful periods and how to curb them.

Students were inquisitive and raised many questions, which steered a wave of dialogues during the awareness drive. Sunnapu Rishika, delivered a detailed speech on menstrual discomfort and how to prevent it along with some Yoga descriptions and some mild exercises. She focused on explaining the do’s and dont’s during periods. She tried to clear out the doubts of the students related to several myths associated with menstruation. Many students raised questions which were way beyond their age, for example, why are women not allowed in temples when they menstruate, but they are allowed in the church? Why do mothers restrict them entering the kitchen during their periods? Why they are not allowed to touch pickle during the periods? In this regard, Dr. Antarajeeta came to the forefront and cleared each and every doubt, and she advised students to have healthy menstruation and take pride of being a girl who menstruates.

Lastly, Dr. RamaKrishna Biswal, encouraged and motivated the girls to stay healthy and not to be afraid of their period stains, because “Kuch Daag Ache Hote Hain.” He emphasized on the statement that every girl is beautiful, every girl is important and every girl has the right to stay happy and healthy for a better and sustainable future. During his interaction, he also thanked the school authority; the teachers present there, and last but not the least to the students for their cooperation and making the awareness program smooth and a happy learning session.