Considering the acute poverty of the period in the char areas of Gaibandha and Kurigram, the eco-friendly low-cost liquid absorbent, or Ella Pad, kept up its mission to cover more students in the most underprivileged areas of the country and opened another pad bank.
On February 13, Ella Pad started “Pad Bank” at Dariapur Kiamotullah Memorial Girls’ High School at Gaibandha Shadar on February 18, said a press release.
"I’m privileged to get access to the pads at the schools," narrated a student in class ten.
Also, the president of the Ella Pad bank committee at the school said: "Now I get relief from the tension of missing the classes and examinations during my examinations."
Tauhidul Islam, the head teacher of the Dariapur Kiamothullah Memorial Girls’ High School, also expressed his satisfaction with Ella Pad for being able to retain their students in the classrooms.
Speaking of the situation, he said: "We lost a good number of our female students during the pandemic period and are worried about continuing girls’ education in the future in this area."
Poverty-ridden parents can hardly afford to meet the basic needs of their children, including the cost of education, let alone support to buy menstrual hygiene products, as he continued.
Islam also mentions the case of Mamunur Rahman, founder of Ella Pad, who came back from the west to serve his fellow countrymen.
At the opening ceremony, Abdullah Al Maruf, head of a program of Ella Pad, informed the audience about the objectives of the pad bank initiative and how it evolved, breaking the silence of society to talk about the period-related problems in the rural areas in particular.
He also mentioned the health hazard of plastic pads.
Before distributing Ella Pads among the students, Shamim Alom, adviser of the European Union-supported Songo project, explained to the audience the multidimensional benefits of reusable Ella Pads at the opening event.
The pad bank management committee, along with a group of girls' student representatives from different classes, attended the opening event.