World Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls on 28 May, is a good time to take stock of what we have accomplished so far. As part of the Periodic Coalition, a Kulczyk Foundation-initiated association of organisations and experts addressing menstrual exclusion, we have distributed 12 million menstrual products to those in need. We have collected nearly 46,000 signatures on the website takdlapodpasek.pl for the petition to the government for free access to menstrual products and education on menstrual health in Polish schools. Parents, employers, schools, government agencies, and the media can use the materials gathered in our online learning hub.
‘Any day now, thanks to the involvement of our female allies from different sides of the political scene, we will present a bill in the Sejm aimed at introducing free pads to schools throughout Poland’, says Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Kulczyk Foundation. The key to the success of the Periodic Coalition’s initiatives, she adds, is the support of its partners and the broad public perception of its activities.
‘Our partners regularly donate menstrual supplies to us, with great confidence that we will send them to where they are needed most: schools, hospitals, orphanages, and places of stay for refugees. Our public campaigns bring menstrual health to the attention of the public’, the Foundation’s leader stresses.
Among the Periodic Coalition's media initiatives, the first-ever television campaign about menstruation was widely publicised. There was also a lot of buzz about the #podpaskizaopaski campaign on social media, with 400 people posting photos of themselves with their eyes obscured by a red band, tagging them with the campaign hashtag. For each photo posted, the Kulczyk Foundation donated a package of pads to an organisation distributing hygiene supplies to those in need.
The achievements of the Periodic Coalition have been widely publicised and recognised by the media. Money.pl, a leading Polish economic portal, honoured them with their ‘Special Award’, presented to individuals, companies or other private entities that have demonstrated exceptional social contributions in a given year.
‘I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone who is involved in and supports our activities. Together we are changing our reality. And we are not stopping’, says Dominika Kulczyk, emphatically.
Fot. Karol Wysmyk
