The Rotary Club of Shillong supplied, installed and commissioned two sets of sanitary pad vending machines at St Joseph Higher Secondary School, Pynthorbah, and Sacred Heart Girls Higher Secondary School, Mawlai on Saturday.
This project was sanctioned under the District Grant 2019-2020 of Rotary International.
Each vending machine contains 25 biodegradable sanitary pads which can be dispensed on insertion of a Rs 5 coin into the machine. Additionally, the machine is partnered with a small incinerator that can burn used pads with a little kindling, like newspaper. This produces only a small amount of ash.
Considering that the topic of menstruation amongst adolescent girls is normally not discussed publicly as it is considered a taboo in certains parts of the country, the Rotary Club of Shillong has initiated these dispensing machines and, if successful, will provide more such devices in other schools.
