To put it in a nutshell, my volunteering experience with Safe N’ Happy Periods was one of the most rewarding and mind-opening experiences of my life. Right from the start, Sarika – the founder and good spirit of Safe N’ Happy – encouraged us to challenge the structures that we found and to come up with new ideas of how to improve the work of the initiative. Apart from administrative work, my tasks included meeting school and university officials to arrange workshops, writing blog entries and reports and assisting Sarika in delivering the workshops.
The most memorable experience was to accompany Sarika to MIJWAN, an NGO run by Bollywood celebrity Shabana Azmi Ji in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Staying and working in this rural setting was a challenging, but extremely rewarding experience. To see with how much curiosity and gratefulness girls and women followed the workshops, how they practiced the yoga asanas and how they started talking more openly motivated me throughout my entire stay.
The longer I work with Safe N’ Happy, the more I realise how invaluable this initiative is in making women feel more confident about themselves and their bodies. To create awareness and adequate knowledge about menstruation and to ensure that women are no longer disadvantaged in society, there is still a long way to go, but Safe N’ Happy is taking a great step towards these goals and I am proud to be part of this journey.
If you want to contact Isabella about her experience with Safe N’ Happy Periods, please write an e-mail to: isabella.hilber@hotmail.com
Isabella Hilber
Volunteer Testimonial Sarika Gupta 0