Proud to Be Me is an initiative formulated by Panthalassa, a charitable non-profit trust, is a wellness initiative aimed at promoting female health care and focuses on educating women about menstrual hygiene. By installing sanitary napkin dispensing machines in public bathrooms and schools, Panthalassa hopes to foster habits that help improve menstrual hygiene.
Often women commuters don’t change their sanitary napkins till they get home from work, market, or school.
Mrinalini Mitra, Founder and CEO of Panthalassa, emphasizes the importance of habit creation among individuals as she believes that “a simple act such as changing your sanitary napkin regularly is only one such habit women should foster to be responsible for their own healthcare and hygiene.”
Panthalassa has partnered with local booksellers (Universal Booksellers Lucknow), local eatery joints (Spicy Hub), and hospitals (Apollo Medics) to provide coupons offering discounts that the women may avail when they deposit Rs.5 in the machine to get a napkin.
Keeping in mind the convenience of women commuters; the machines accept coins of all values, ₹1, ₹2 and ₹5 as long as the total amount deposited is that of ₹5. Additionally, the machine also accepts payments through Paytm. “Installing a sanitary napkin dispensing machine is not enough; Proud to be Me promises to provide women with quality environment friendly napkins and each napkin comes with a discount coupon to motivate women to change their sanitary napkins regularly.”
By partnering with local businesses to provide students with discount coupons amounting anywhere from Rs.5 to Rs.10, the cost of the sanitary napkin for women becomes free as with each napkin they get services of the same amount at stores, eateries, and hospitals. The pads that the machine dispense are biodegradable fostering an attitude of using sustainable goods instead of using products that harm the environment.
{{/usCountry}}By partnering with local businesses to provide students with discount coupons amounting anywhere from Rs.5 to Rs.10, the cost of the sanitary napkin for women becomes free as with each napkin they get services of the same amount at stores, eateries, and hospitals. The pads that the machine dispense are biodegradable fostering an attitude of using sustainable goods instead of using products that harm the environment.
{{/usCountry}}With the help of Apollo Medics, various branches of City Montessori School have already received Proud to be Me vending machines.
Now, with their latest collaboration with Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation Limited. Proud to be Me machines can be found at four prominent Lucknow Metro stations—Hazratganj , Munshi Pulia , Charbagh and Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport station.