by Melissa Hicks, Marketing Manager at Jeevika Trust
Back in July we ran our first crowdfunding campaign designed to raise funds for the next stage of one of our flagship projects, Project SNAPS.Our Project SNAPS, launched in 2015 and delivered by our partner Jeevan Rekha Parishad (JRP) in Odisha, gives girls and women access to hygienic, cost effective, eco-disposable Sanitary NAPkinS (SNAPS).
We couldn’t have been more delighted with the success of this campaign!
Project SNAPS has a three-pronged approach focusing on three areas :
- LIVELIHOOD : Women villagers are formed into Self-Help Groups to produce and market low-cost, eco-disposable SNAPS which not only addresses their personal sanitary needs, but allows them to generate a small income from their activities.
- EDUCATION : These napkins are then made available to girls in schools as well as village girls who are no longer in school. With better access to SNAPS, girls have the opportunity to remain in education improving their future prospects.
- HEALTH : Through better education on reproductive health and hygiene, providing women with SNAPS and improving access to toilet facilities we aim to improve levels of health, reduce reproductive infections and allow girls to remain in school.
Up until recent years we had managed to secure funding for our projects in India, but many NGOs, including Jeevika Trust, were badly hit by the UK Government’s decision to drop India from its main aid fund from 2015. Indian funding may have been dropped but we were more determined than ever to carry on delivering our projects whilst extreme poverty in India still remains.
So we set up our first ever crowdfunding campaign and what a success it was! Over the 30 days that the campaign was live we managed to raise nearly £3,000 from our wonderful supporters, old and new. This exceeded our expectations and we were delighted to have secured funding to continue delivering Project SNAPS.
Plans are already being put in place to purchase another SNAPS production machine and trial new incinerators to dispose of the napkins after use. So it is safe to say, the money you pledged really will be making a difference to the lives of women and girls in India.
We would like to say a massive thank you to all of you who backed our crowdfunding campaign – we can’t wait to let you know how the next stage of Project SNAPS is going over the coming months.
Please do visit our Project SNAPS to find out more about this worthwhile project.