Women helping women focus of new organization

Four area students have formed a non-profit organization that strives to educate and provide supplies to women in underprivileged areas.

            Big deal, right?

            It is considering their goal is to provide “sanitary pads to 500 million individuals in underprivileged populations while also promoting menstrual health education, sensitization, and de-stigmatization campaigns related to menstruation.”

            That has been the mission of “Every 28 Days,” started in March of 2023 by (pictured from top to bottom)  Shruti Govindarajan of Buffalo Grove, Amrutha Venkat of Palatine and sisters Nishika and Niyathi Girish of Palatine. Since its founding, Every 28 Days has been trying to target rural areas worldwide, focusing on underprivileged populations with inaccessibility to resources.

            It’s fitting that Every 28 Days is focusing on public health and health education as Venkat is a sophomore at Nova Southeastern University majoring in Public Health and minoring in Nutrition, Pre-Health, and Honors Transdisciplinary Studies on the Dual D.O. Med track while Nishika Girish is a freshman at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and plans to major in psychology and statistics.

          

  Niyathi Girish, a sophomore at Fremd High School,  and Govindarajan, a junior at Stevenson High School are active in social causes at their respective high schools.

            Venkat says a driving force for them to start Every 28 Days was that menstrual health was seen as "taboo" in many cultures. Venkat says a primary

goal is to “eliminate that stigma, as menstrual cycles occur for every woman and is a normal part of growth and development.” They were especially interested in addressing the issue in their Indian culture, practices of isolation and using different utensils to eat when on one’s menstrual cycle, were prevalent.

            “After hearing several stories of my grandmothers who had used straw, hay, leaves, etc. to serve the purpose of menstrual pads, the inaccessibility to necessary resources struck me a great deal, sparking my initiative to begin this nonprofit and make a change to this inequity,” Govindarajan says.

            More than education and providing feminine hygiene supplies, Niyathi Girish says personal dignity and pride is also an essential component of Every 28 Days’ mission. “No one should have to compromise their dignity due to financial constraints. Our involvement helps bridge the gap, promoting equality and supporting the well-being of individuals in our community and beyond.” 

Sister Nishika agrees saying “seeing the impact firsthand reinforces the significance of our involvement. It's more than just providing pads; it's about empowering individuals, breaking down societal taboos, and educating young girls for a healthier and confident future.”

Partnerships are an important part of Every 28 Days’ mission. They work with various organizations, such as LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations where, they say, “certain other stigmas may be faced, as well as organizations in third-world countries such as parts of Africa, Peru, and India. We have raised money to buy and donate around 19K pads overall.”

To bolster their efforts, they are hoping to host more fundraisers locally, partner with schools to “educate young girls, preach destigmatization.”

Niyathi Girish and Govindarajan are quick to point out that “women’s rights are human rights,” while Nishika Girish and Amrutha Venkat add that “a pad can be a small piece of material, but the impact it carries is huge. it’s a bridge to dignity, a tool for empowerment, and a symbol of our commitment to equality."

 Information about Every 28 Days is available at this site.