While many often think of food and household items when it comes to donating essentials to the less fortunate, it’s easy to forget that women are also in need of sanitary necessities for monthly periods.
Recently, an inspiring Malaysian woman known as, Vimala Kanagaratnam, kick-started an initiative to deliver sanitary pads for women and girls in need during the MCO.
The social marketer, who previously worked on distributing baby formula and groceries to less fortunate families living in public housing project (PPR) flats switched her focus when she received a message from a desperate father who could not afford to buy pads for his daughter.
“I received a text message in Malay one night from a father who said his daughter was menstruating but they didn’t have any money to buy sanitary pads. It really broke my heart when I read that message. It’s already so difficult for these families to put food on the table, what more to buy sanitary pads,” said Vimala to Malay Mail.
With the current state of the economy, Vimala said she understands how hard it is for families to provide for their loved ones: “I know some families are struggling during the MCO and some of them now have zero income after losing their jobs.”
As a mother with a teen daughter herself, Vimala personally empathised with the struggles faced by women who can’t afford to buy essential feminine hygiene products during this precarious time.
Determined to make a difference, the social marketer managed to gather seven boxes of pads in just 24 hours with help from her friends! However, she hopes to get more people on board to expand the scope of donations for women who need it.
Vimala took to Facebook to share her initiative in hopes of bringing this issue to the attention of netizens.
The caring mother made it clear that she does not accept cash donations and has asked Good Samaritans to order the sanitary pads online to be delivered to her address so she could distribute them.
But she told Malaysians that they could still help even if they didn’t have the means to join her inspiring initiative. Just doing the little that you can is sometimes enough.
“You don’t have to send the pads to me, you can even just buy pads for your next-door neighbour if you know they can’t afford to buy them right now.”
As of right now, Vimala is working on helping families living in PPR flats in Kelana Jaya and wishes to expand her operations to those in Desa Menteri once more donations start coming in. You can contact her at 016-9088939 on WhatsApp if you’re interested on helping out with her initiative.
Hopefully, Vimala gets the support she needs to continue this inspiring initiative. Do spread the word if you know anyone who’s interested!
Also read: Inspiring M’sian Girl Sews PPE Clothes For Frontliners Despite Not Having Any Hands
