SEEMA KHANDALE
A homemaker to a changemaker
Year 2015, a turning point of my life, which gave me the additional identity of a social activist.
I completed my master’s degree in March 2015. A dream I dreamed from 1994, after completing my Bachelors of Science in Botany. I majored in Social Work and am proud I could do so after 20 years of playing a homemaker.
Social work is my passion and with the strong support of my friends and family I built a platform of my own NGO called Ashay Social Group with a vision / mission of caring for the environment.
Ashay Social Group has two primary objectives:
1) Avoid plastic carry bags and use cloth bags.
2) Health, hygiene and promotion of sustainable menstruation options like menstrual cups and cloth pads.
Mission 1: The first project started with the 3Rs concept: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce!
We collect old used sarees, dupattas, blouse pieces, making cloth bags from them (one saree can be used to make 10 cloth bags) We employ a team of 4 women in Bhusawal (Jalgaon district in the Indian state of Maharashtra) giving them a chance to make a living. These bags are distributed to the people in our society. The bags are offered as “gifts”, with the intention to encourage reusing cloth bags and saying no to plastic ones!
So far, we have distributed over 22,000 cloth bags and the numbers increase every day!
Mission 2: Health, Hygiene and Promotion and Awareness of Sustainable Menstruation Options
In March 2016, I came across an article in a newspaper about a story of the menstrual cup and started searching for the product. I wanted to try it first to see if I was comfortable using it before spreading the word. The day I managed to find one I tried immediately, even though I did not have my menses going on. That month I eagerly waited for my periods, and after trying out the cup, there was no looking back!
I started spreading the word with my friends and my immediate network of women. Explaining to them about the comfort and the ease. I found this economical, hygienic and eco-friendly.
Our society is not that open when it comes to talking freely about periods. But it is high time we understand that menstruation is a natural process and a sign of growing up which is nothing to be ashamed or secretive of!
So far, I have helped more than 1000+ women to switch to this sustainable option and hope to do so for many more in future.
In the two years of my awareness campaigns, I have come across women coming from different sections. Young girls, married women, housewives, anganvadi sevikas, teachers, women from government offices, corporate sector, maids, visually challenged, runners, swimmers, and even doctors. And I am proud to say that I have been successful in guiding them all about on how to use a menstrual cup and they are now super-comfortable with it.
My thriving social endeavours have been covered by a lot of websites, radio channels, women oriented platforms. I have also received several awards and accolades for my work in this space. It makes me happy because it helps spread the word about my work even more!
As my work and the reach of my NGO spreads, I feel that my biggest achievement is that I am doing my bit to improve the lives of women, improve the quality of environment and help leave a happier world to our future generations to come.
Seema Khandale
Founder, Ashay Social Group
www.ashaysocialgroup.org
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