Menstruation is a healthy and normal, albeit somewhat inconvenient, aspect of womanhood. Though an integral part of life, the ins and outs of it are not commonly taught to not only girls stepping into adolescence, but women in general. Likewise, good menstrual practices too are not prevalently shared among women. The lack of healthy menstrual habits can lead to many adverse effects that can manifest physically, mentally and emotionally. Therefore, upkeeping menstrual hygiene not only alleviates some of the discomfort associated with a monthly period but also ensures a healthy and wholesome life. Being prepared for your upcoming period is important. Tracking your cycle is one way to know when to expect your next period and can help avoid unnecessary…
Category: Community Service
Let’s Talk Periods: Period Poverty in Sri Lanka
“Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health” - Sanjay Wijesekera, former UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene ‘Menstruation’ is a taboo topic which is rarely ever discussed publicly and freely and categorized by cultural stigma and shame across the globe. Menstruation, or period is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as a part of a woman’s monthly cycle. Period Poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management or a combination of these which is an important subject area for women and girls as well as the society as a whole. It describes the struggle of low income girls and women face while…
Let’s Talk Periods: Impacts Of Menstrual Products On The Environment
Menstruation being a part of life for around 1.9 billion girls and women, menstrual products are amongst the most vital personal care products in the world. During menstruation, menstrual management products are used for feminine hygiene. Were you aware that an individual utilizes approximately 11,000 disposable sanitary pads in a lifetime? Even though we see these menstrual products such as tampons and pantyliners to be small and insignificant things, it has a tremendous environmental impact. It can cause resource wastage, emission of greenhouse gases, contamination of soil and groundwater and many more. In detail, over 200,000 tons of waste are produced each year from sanitary pads, its packaging and individual wraps, which are mostly contained of plastic that require an…
Athwal – A Helping Hand In Need
"Kindness can transform someone’s dark moment with a blaze of light. You’ll never know how much your caring matters. Make a difference for another today." - Amy Leigh Mercree. This is a dark moment for everyone in the whole world. We all are in need, we all are frightened, we all are in the same deep, dark abyss and we all should help each other to get out of it. The only way that we can survive this tough period is by being a 'blaze of light' to one another. We must care for one another, look after one another and help one another to rise up and face this ongoing situation. Thus, we can make a huge difference in…
A Look Back At ‘Stop The Spread’
‘Stop the Spread -Beyond COVID-19’ was an initiative by the Rotary International District 3220 to help combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sri Lanka. It was conducted for the purpose of bringing young Rotaractors’ together to help flatten the curve by spreading awareness and raising funds for the less privileged. The project focused on helping small businesses and schools in low-income areas. One part of the project focused on helping schools reopen while the other focused on helping chosen business entities to create COVID-19 controlled environments and obtain the SLSI Certificate. As the Rotaract Club of the University of Colombo Faculty of Arts, we opted to take part in the ‘Back to School Donation Drive’, which focused on…
Forget-Me-Not: A Conversation on Child Abuse
Nelson Mandela is known to have said "The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.". In a society where children face various challenges in the hands of those who are deemed to be their caretakers, it is important that we are aware of the many dangers that children face and how to defend them against them. So, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts decided take World Children’s Day 2021 as an opportunity to raise awareness on child abuse, including child sexual abuse (CSA). Forget-Me-Not was a project conducted by the Community Service avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts. Chaired by Rtr. Amasha Kalyanapriya, this…
Revisiting ‘Mithudam 2.0’
Distance education or online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly deepened inequalities among the communities of Sri Lanka. The Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts together with the Leo Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts focused on addressing this issue through Project Mithudam 2.0. The two clubs also approached Hype Sri Lanka as an outreach partner for better networking purposes. Our community service director, Rtr. Sithmi Edirisinghe coordinated the project with the help of the two chairpersons Rtr.Gethmi Adikari and Rtr.Oshini Hewawaduge. With the uncertainties surrounding the complete eradication of the pandemic, distance education seemed to be the only solution for all students. Therefore, our intention was to assist a few students who were…