Educate. Employ. Empower.

Once again Black Friday is here! And while it may be taking on a different shape this year, it is still going ahead.

Black Friday in 2020

Our attention has been drawn to the smaller, more important things in life, which we continue to power through together. However, this year has also brought on massive difficulties to those already struggling to begin with. After all, periods don’t stop for pandemics.

Period Poverty

The lack of access to menstrual education and sanitary products is just the start of period poverty. This basic requirement can lead to an increased risk of disease, misleading stereotypes and an absence of education.

Period poverty affects up to 71% of all women in India, which is linked to an estimated 70% of all reproductive diseases and poor menstrual hygiene experienced by women. 

It goes beyond the financial constraints behind purchasing menstrual hygiene products. Period poverty extends itself into girl’s missing 6 days of class every month from the lack of available sanitary products, period shaming and an absence of curriculums regarding menstrual health.

By educating, employing and empowering more women, we begin to change the face of period poverty, and change lives in the process.

The Sakhi Project

Over the last 3 years, Black Friday has marked the day that BeYou united with the Sakhi Project: a charitable initiative set up by Swati Bedekar which works towards mobilizing women within India, by setting up self-help groups which educate and employ women within poorer communities. This entire initiative focuses on tackling period poverty and bridging the gap between gender equity, through a full-circle foundation.

Since we began this partnership with Sakhi, BeYou has supplied over 1000 school girls in India with an entire year's supply of free sanitary pads, along with employing 15 women full-time who work on these machines and keep the profits made, as their earnings. 

Since then, we have been very proud to recently announce that we have been able to launch our first major project in a town named Pen (near Mumbai, India). 

“It's not a charity that we're working with, it's people that we're empowering” - BeYou Co-Founder, Kru Patel

How does the Sakhi Project work?

Educate

This flagship project focuses on educating women within these communities, through their set up self-help groups (SHG). 

A location is found and machinery is set up and raw materials are ordered, ready to create biodegradable, sanitary pads.

Employ

Then 15 local women are employed and trained on how to make these pads, which they can then sell within the community and keep all profits made: either to reinvest into another machine or employ more local women!

Empower

Throughout these self-help groups, the Sakhi Project runs training and awareness camps which teach the local community (including boys and men) about the science of menstruation and that it is in fact, not dirty. This is a key to changing the perception within the community and aligns with alleviating the cultural stigma and taboos around periods.

This is a core-belief pushed forward by our founders here at BeYou and is exactly why BeYou continues to go on and offer our entire support to the Sakhi project, every time that we possibly can!

BeYou Black Friday: Shop with Purpose

Over 70% of women in India don’t know what sanitary towels are or how to use them. This Black Friday we continue to change that.

For this exact reason, we continue our promise to donate 100% of all our Black Friday Weekend profits made to the Sakhi Project and hope to build even more machines, educate and employ even more women to empower an entire community!

Every single purchase made on the BeYou website covers an entire year’s supply of free pads for one of the poorest women in this community! 

The Sakhi Project allows us to help everyone within this community. We hope to continue creating opportunities for every one of these women, slowly bridging the gap between gender equity and period poverty, while bringing the rest of the community on board and empowering these women overall. To many, many more machines!

Femcare forever

The Sakhi project is a part of us here at BeYou, and one we are constantly running off the back of BeYou. With every customer that we get, every purchase that is made, another individual joins our Foundation: whether they are aware of it or not - they’ve offered us their helping hand!

 All of this is thanks to you, and we couldn’t be more grateful for your support!