BUILDING BACK BETTER

After having read some articles about period poverty in Mexico and Latin America about homeless people whose condition of vulnerability was being exacerbated by the pandemic-generated economic crisis, Sheyla Zamudio started thinking about ways to respond to this crisis. By writing a small yet powerful document with her idea and presenting it to Red Mundial de Jóvenes Políticos Puebla (a youth-led NGO that promotes the SDGs), “Period in the Streets” came alive. Firstly, they established gathering centers with all the required health security measures and assigned one of the campaign members to each of the centers in the different Puebla State’s municipalities where they would collect menstruation products. Then, they set on a mission to deliver the recollected products in peripheries and shelters, where they also had the opportunity to carry out talks on menstrual education and answered related questions. The next step was spreading the word via social media to make the initiative visible. To make this initiative sustainable and fruitful, they created an organizational strategy, assuring the necessary sanitation measures were being met.

Although the pandemic definitely brought new challenges, Sheyla and her brave team decided to use it as an incentive to carry out their campaign. Moreover, they turned the pandemic into an opportunity to highlight the reality many women face and demonstrate that, “as citizens, we can make an impact, too; it only takes to look at all latitudes, generating an intersectional perspective” The hardest challenge, though, was eliminating the stigma around “menstruation,” to which they responded by using empathy as their main tool. Sheyla and Period in the Streets are an example of true leadership and perseverance. 

Take action: 

• Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with your community, family, and peers; 
• Prioritize yours and your team’s mental health. 
• Regard girls and women as your allies; focus on the problem you have in common and use it as a reason to support each other and work together.