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Eradicating menstrual poverty, one pad at a time
Taylor’s Hostel initiated the LaunchPad project in 2019 with the aim to end menstruation poverty among female refugees living in Malaysia. LaunchPad is the first project in Malaysia to tackle period poverty among refugees through reusable sanitary pads & menstrual hygiene education. Presently, some 170,000 refugees and asylum seekers reside in Malaysia of which 32% are women (60,000 women refugees).
Refugee women and girls face many gender-specific challenges in navigating daily life such as menstrual hygiene, and this consequently becomes a barrier to education and livelihood opportunities. Through this project, we strive to shape new narratives for refugee women and girls and through the concerted effort and partnerships between non-profit organisations and the private sector, we believe this is possible.
Through the LaunchPad project, we have been able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of female refugees living in Malaysia by providing them with the tools to improve their livelihoods and even generate additional income. The resources developed for the LaunchPad project, including an educational video on reproductive health, instructional tutorial videos, and pictorial posters, are designed to be self-sustaining and easily adaptable to any community around the world. These materials allow the project to have a long-lasting impact on the lives of refugees and contribute to their empowerment.
We are proud to have created instructional guides in partnership with The Design School at Taylor's University, which allow refugees to easily make reusable pads at home. These resources, available in multiple languages, have been widely embraced by refugee communities and have also helped to provide sex education materials to support their overall well-being. We believe that these guides have the potential to have a lasting impact on the lives of refugees and contribute to their empowerment.
Get started by exploring the LaunchPad resources below:
LaunchPad was launched. Through research and collaboration with refugees, we were able to prototype and develop reusable menstrual pads. We created and continuously improve our workshop program to teach trainers and refugees how to make the reusable pads. With the help of volunteers, we were able to produce and donate 500 reusable pads to the community.
refugees aided
workshops conducted
reusable pads donated
The pandemic caused a lockdown that presented challenges for our efforts to support the refugee community. In order to continue helping, we designed a multilingual printable tutorial that could be easily shared among refugees. This tutorial enabled them to continue raising awareness about menstrual hygiene and taught them how to make their own reusable pads.
NGOs Collaborated
reusable pads donated
In order to ensure that the program is self-sustaining and easily adaptable, we developed a comprehensive starter kit supported by online downloadable materials and video tutorials. With these resources, anyone can easily start their own LaunchPad program and make a positive impact on their community. Our goal is to empower individuals and organizations to take an active role in addressing menstrual hygiene and supporting those in need.
refugees trained as trainers
refugees aided
reusable pads donated
Pads were distributed among the refugees
Refugees made their own pads after the workshop
NGO partners to make this an outstanding journey
Comfortable, clean & save money.
It's good. Much more comfortable, i will try using it next period.
It will be much better than the usual clothes that i usually use.
