Sanitation4Sisters is a non-profit charity founded by a group of secondary school students.
 

Over the past year, they have been working hard to raise awareness for the prevalent problem of period poverty throughout the world, and how much of an issue it really is.

They partnered with numerous different organisations in order to develop their understanding of period poverty, and what they could do to help.

The team used a variety of different fundraising techniques, ranging from campaigns to social media, and ultimately raised over £5000 and has acquired over 34000 material donations. 

Venus Raman, one of the founders of the charity, states how her ‘desire to be involved in period poverty runs deep’.

After discovering how one in seven girls miss school due to the price of sanitary products, she says that she knew she had to do what she could to make a change to not only provide safe hygiene products but also raise awareness of the problem.
 

She says that impact S4S had on women around the country was both ‘eye-opening and rewarding’, leading her to expand the charity to Ghana and Tanzania.

Venus says that ‘learning about the scale of period poverty in Africa was a harrowing experience’ and it ‘deeply saddened her to learn of the makeshift alternatives many women used such as old rags and even leaves’.
 

She also learnt about Female Genital Mutilation, a misogynistic practice prominent in most African countries, ultimately worsening period poverty.
 

She says that she felt a sense of relief knowing she could help all these women, however she knew it was only a temporary fix.
 

She hopes to be able to create sustainable long-term fixes in the future.

Oliver Mitchell, another founder of the charity, states that he is ‘proud to say that we have had a considerable impact in the UK’s fight against period poverty.’
 

When he first learnt about it from Venus he was extremely disturbed, and was eager to make a stand against something so prevalent and yet overlooked.

He is very excited for what the future holds for S4S, and he is already working alongside the other founders in order to introduce similar aid into more countries in Africa, and says that it is ‘well underway’.

Oliver has dedicated a huge amount of time to the charity over the past eighteen months, and he intends to continue to work alongside Venus for the foreseeable future in order to tackle period poverty head on, and hopefully change the world in the process.

Sanitation4Sisters is currently working towards providing access to menstrual hygiene products to many countries around the world, and are expanding the amount of countries in the process.
 

They are working hard to introduce adequate sanitation facilities in many different places, alongside providing the relevant education around menstruation, and hopefully it continues to have a lasting impact in the world.