| Abstract |
This paper highlights a project that from its beginning let young women direct the project in terms of product development and design,
leading to a solution for menstrual hygiene that is being constructed in schools throughout the Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea. The problem being addressed relates to young women and girls dropping out of school because of the stigma and humiliation associated with monthly menstruation. It was therefore hoped that an appropriate response could be developed to address this trend. Unlike many water and sanitation programs, this project focused on the basic needs expressed by the end users. Items as simple as bucket showers and clothes-washing lines were identified by these young women as their real priorities. By continuing to actively involve these young women in “Knowledge Sharing Workshops”, they not only developed their own solutions, but were given access to a workshop and technical staff to make the first prototypes of their ideas. [authors abstract]
|
