Women Empowerment in Zanzibar
“And Now for Something Completely Different”
As you may have noticed, from today on, I have put a small green banner on my archive pages. It’s about a GoFundMe fundraiser initiated by a very dear friend of mine, who runs a small community-based NGO called Zanzibar Bora. I have never done so before but this one is close to my heart — both the person and the project.
Let get straight to it:
Sanitary pads are a basic human right and should not be a luxury item. We therefore believe that women should have access to hygiene products worldwide especially during their menstruation!
There’s really very little to add to that. Every woman should have access to proper menstrual hygiene. Not having that access excludes women from many activities of daily life, as menstrual health is still a flat out taboo in public life in many places. It’s a sensitive topic and needs a sensitive approach: education, production and distribution.
To be clear: the goal is a self-sustaining local business that does not need further cash infusion. The seed money is meant for getting things off the ground.
The grassroots NGO Zanzibar Bora works directly with locals and addresses local issues and needs. Every donation for this project goes straight to Zanzibar, benefiting real people. There’s no percentage being taken off, no salaries being paid, no added expenses deducted, no consultant fees or calculatory tricks — no bullshit. Every cent reaches its destination, one hundred percent. Any costs of transferring funds are being absorbed through general donations and savings.
Let’s get them over the threshold so they can start production.