After 13 years in the RAF I'm taking an 18-month career break, moving to Zimbabwe to address some personal matters. I will also be doing some charity work alongside this - delivering menstrual cups to girls in the rural areas.

Hi everyone and thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Recent research from actionaid.org.uk has revealed that some girls in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa will miss up to 20% of their school year due to the Period Poverty crisis. Sanitary products are not available in a lot of the rural areas, or they are just too expensive to buy, especially since the Covid pandemic began. Many girls will either fall behind or drop out of school completely, as lack of sanitary products makes education almost impossible. Those girls who do improvise often resort to using leaves, paper or even cow manure in replacement.

Since learning about the Period Poverty crisis a few years ago, I always had an urge to try help in some way. As I'm taking a career break and moving to Zimbabwe, I decided now is a perfect time to make a change. I approached several different charities with an offering of help, but as with most things these days, bureaucracy and red-tape make new ideas almost impossible to gain traction.

After being knocked back a few times, I decided to take matters into my own hands and emailed Casco Bay Molding , a medical grade silicon factory in USA who produce menstrual cups. I explained my military background and the project I wanted to startup. They were really excited to be involved with such a project, so agreed to lowering the cost to $1.90 per cup per 1000 cups. On Amazon they usually retail from £10 up to £30 each, so buying wholesale from the manufacturer is what makes the project viable.

The next part of the puzzle was the research element. Similar projects have been completed by NGOs in neighbouring countries, with the main challenge being the educational piece. There is an inherent stigma in these areas about using internal sanitary products, resulting in reluctance to use tampons or cups. I reached out to my Auntie Hope who is part of several feminist organisations spanning across Africa. She offered to gather a small team of strong women to help me with the actual delivery of the cups and the interaction with the students, providing the continued support and education necessary for such a project.

Essentially, we will travel out to the rural areas to give away as many cups to as many girls as possible, until we run out of cups!

So then to the fundraiser itself... I imagine the biggest challenge of this project will be in the physical delivery/travel and admin of the task. However, given my background in the RAF Regiment, I've decided to climb the highest point in the UK - Ben Nevis in Scotland, on 11 Sep 21 with a 25 kg full combat load. Lovely.

If you're thinking of donating, just remember that every penny will make a difference. A £10 donation will buy around 7 cups, that's 7 girls whose life you can potentially change for the better. If you really can't afford to donate, that's fine too, this is also about raising awareness.

Lastly, I'm planning on documenting the journey as much as possible so keep your ears peeled! I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting footage once I get to Zim, I'll be sending updates over Facebook or YouTube.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this. God bless.

Love,

Simba