This year for service I have decided also to be a part of the Generation Education Period (GEP) focus group. GEP aims to decrease the stigma associated with menstruation. We believe its a natural process that should be embraced instead of shunned. We used to provide $10 sanitary kits around Cambodia to women and girls who didn’t have access. This was done through our partnership with the Green Umbrella GC. However, unfortunately, this year, Green Umbrella shut down their sanitary kit producing factory which has been a huge challenge for us to overcome.

I was part of the focus group last year as well (but it was a GC then) and I was appointed as chair. However, this year I am the communications officer which also entails quite a large workload. Through last year I realized I’m particularly strong at coming up with new ideas as to how to raise awareness, create partnerships and such. Additionally, I enjoy building relationships with possible partners which is why becoming the communications officer was apt for me. Nonetheless, I would like to improve my leadership skills and be more confident when addressing my peers.

This year, I’m mainly helping GEP build a connection with Kolkata GC. Kolkata GC is partnered with an NGO in India called Voice of World. Voice of World aims to empower individuals – namely women and children with disabilities – participate in society to their full potential. We found out that in their vocational center, they have a specialized area where they manufacture sanitary products which is exactly the type of partnership we were looking for. This particular endeavor has helped me develop my leadership skills as I navigate GEP through this relationship that we are building. Although the outcome is still to come, our relationship is seeming to develop positively and successfully. By February of next year, we hope to have some quantitative and qualitative proof of how our partnership is evolving. This attempt to build a partnership has provided me with invaluable skills of collaboration and communication. I’ve learned key skills regarding patience, empathy and, professionalism which will all help me in the future as well.

In the past, I took for granted the access we have to sanitary products in Singapore. But through researching into this issue I have enriched my understanding about just how severe this issue really is. Many girls are deprived of an education once they begin their period and forced into child marriage. This topic is close to my heart as it is prevalent in India and in many countries I’ve visited.