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Whenever someone used to ask my mother's profession, I blankly said gynecologist without fully knowing what it actually meant. After my mom gave me 'the talk' , I realized the gravity of the problem and was inspired to make a change. I co-founded SPAD with some of my peers to set an example that even men can contribute and make a change to regarding the much tabooed topic of menstrual hygiene.

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Suffering triggers something in me that I can’t well explain, but all it takes is one thought of being in the sufferer’s shoes, and I just know I have to help.

Someway. Somehow.

So, SPAD is one of those projects. It’s my way of trying to make positive change in the world so suffering is minimised as much as possible.

The lack of menstrual hygiene access is a large-scale issue that impacts hundreds of thousands, all over India. The problem with it is that it’s highly commercialised and reaching villages away from the city becomes really difficult, increasing the chances of all the health problems that come without menstrual hygiene access: cancer risks, infection risks, and so much more. By bringing these pads to rural India, we could solve a huge problem and alleviate the suffering that so many women go through every day. All we need is to start. So that’s what I did, with my Co-founders. Together, we started SPAD, to help people as if we were in their shoes.

Moreover, taking care of the environment is of great importance while helping the world, so we also ensured a bio-degradable pad, and soon enough, SPAD was born. I’m happy and grateful to say that in the coming months, we’ll have manufactured half a million pads for rural India, and our small start will have positively impacted the lives of thousands of women. There is no better feeling.

Ever Since I was a child only about 5 or 6 years old, there has always been a space in my heart longing to help. I would look through the car at children on the street, I would feel grateful for my life – my privileged life - but I would also feel a sense of guilt. While i was getting good food, a home, education and so many endless wants fulfilled they weren’t. Everyone deserved it, so why were they left out. I always felt small and helpless as a child whenever I went past them because I had no answer to why only they were going through this. Any materialistic wants I had, just became guilt as I looked them in the eye, most of the times I couldn’t I wasn’t worthy of looking them in the eye because while I and the kids in my school were fulfilling their wants, these millions of children living on the street they could not afford to even get their basic needs fulfilled and I was helpless. Since then, I decided I wanted to help.
When I was around 9 I came across NGO’S and that’s when I starting dreaming of working in one and having my own.
When I started contributing in the little ways I could think of, which was by going to distribute food and clothes around my sector during festivals and helping the lady who tutors the kids living across the street. I realised the problem was education and the very lack of it.
A few years later I joined a NGO- smile foundation- and worked for them for around a month here I gained real experience by going to the village and talking to women about menstrual hygiene and female hygiene.
I always felt that it is really easy to sit in our air-conditioned homes talking about how we want to help these people. as I’m writing this I am sitting in an air conditioned room with water right next to me and all the facilities at the blink of an eye. Going to that village and living that lifestyle every day for 8 hours gave me a lot of insight on what the problems are.
I decided to join Spad because I strongly believe that if women are educated and aware a lot can change and that’s where we should start from. Spad has given me a starting point that felt impossible because of the endless ongoing problems in our country. Spad will help spread awareness and make women independent and empowered. I wanted to help this organization as it’s not only targeting a huge root problem but also helping end the viscous cycle of lack of awareness that is the root cause of poverty in india.

In India, the critical issue of menstrual health is often overlooked, perpetuating a cycle of silence and inadequate support for women's well-being. SPAD was a journey in itself for me to take action on an issue that was close to my heart and gave me a platform to contribute my bit to address it at the earliest.

SPAD as an initiative mirrors sentiments regarding menstrual health and awareness that I believe in, and I strive to advocate for as a member of this initiative

Despite India's economic and social growth in the past decade, the social construct of our country continues to have loopholes, one of them being the taboo around menstruation. SPAD has been a system for me to work towards this contentious issue, and play my bit to make menstrual products accessible to all, while also making menstrual health a topic to be discussed without any hiccups.

Joining SPAD has allowed me to fulfill my role in empowering women and making a meaningful impact on a larger scale. Being part of this organization makes me feel that my contribution is significant in ensuring every woman can live a healthy and uninterrupted life. It is crucial to work towards removing the taboo surrounding menstrual health in India, and SPAD provides me with the platform to actively participate in achieving this goal.

The thing that stood out about SPAD to me is that we weren’t only going to be making sustainable period products accessible to women, but we would be helping other women do it. The fact that the goal of SPAD was to help women empower women by taking actual action, and not just by spreading awareness about a common issue, is what made me want to work for this organisation.

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Menstruation has always been a topic of concern that people rarely discuss in our country. Most people don't understand that it is just a natural process. SFI yearns to change the system, hence , I joined spad.

Menstrual health is a topic very close to me. SPAD is the way through which I can help create awareness about menstrual products. It gave me a platform to contribute and advocate the importance of menstrual health.

StudentsforIndia emerged from hope. A hope of a that a better world could be built,a hope of a nation envisioned by the framers of our constitution, a fairer society, a more inclusive world. It’s a mission to bring that change about and create the maximum impact in disadvantaged communities to enable them to stand up. It’s our mission to create a just society which ensures equitable support to all people.