Collaborates with BMC and BEST to distribute 400,000 sanitary napkins in Mumbai slums and police force
Essar Foundation, which is the CSR arm of Essar, has launched the Sahej app that promotes awareness about menstrual hygiene. It has also distributed over 400,000 sanitary napkins to women in Mumbai slums and the Mumbai Police, in collaboration with BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) and BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport).
The Sahej app has been developed in consultation with key NGOs (Non-governmental Organisations) working in the menstrual hygiene space, namely the Rotaract Club, Kavach A Movement and Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan. The Android-based app offers a one-stop solution for women to menstruate with dignity.
It encourages adolescent girls to maintain menstrual health by availing of hygienic products at subsidised prices.
The Sahej app features a one-of-a-kind e-store of menstrual products manufactured by women-led micro enterprises and SHGs (Self Help Groups). It also provides a platform to donate sanitary napkins to underprivileged women, as well as equip Aanganwadi workers with the right information for educating girls from rural India on correct menstrual hygiene.
Additionally, the app provides for unique ways to promote menstrual hygiene awareness through interactive game-based learning, educational videos by renowned doctors, and a period tracker. Available in three languages—Hindi, Marathi and English—the app caters to the customised needs of every woman across every age group.
Kaustubh Sonalkar, Essar’s Group President-HR, and CEO – Essar Foundation, said: “Promoting menstrual hygiene is our topmost priority at Essar Foundation. We have launched the Sahej app with a vision to revolutionise women’s health and empowerment. It will ensure that women from all sections of the society can lead a healthier life, and become more active contributors to the economy. Sahej is not just a menstrual hygiene management app. It is a movement to sensitively, yet assertively, address the subject of menstruation. With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, many women will have limited access to menstrual hygiene products and services. We hope Sahej will help break geographical and linguistic barriers to equip women with the right information and products.”
Over the last 50 years, Essar has worked closely with the communities residing in the vicinity of its operations. Since 2011, Essar Foundation has carried on the philanthropic work in a cohesive, programmatic manner.
Its activities are inspired by the concept of shared value whereby Essar strives to build an inclusive environment for the communities that it impacts through its business operations in the sectors of Energy, Infrastructure, Metals & Mining, Services, and Technology.
Working in collaboration with non-profits and the local administrations, the Foundation today reaches out to 500,000 people across 500 villages in eight Indian states in the areas of Women’s Empowerment, Livelihoods & Entrepreneurship, Education, Environment Conservation, and Healthcare & Sanitation.
