2018 Impact Report - Saalt Menstrual Cups · n Darfur, soccer is bringing hope to refugee women who...
Transcript of 2018 Impact Report - Saalt Menstrual Cups · n Darfur, soccer is bringing hope to refugee women who...
2018 Impact Report
ContentsSaalt is almost one year old. It is hard to believe that we could be so young, yet have come so far. One of the best decisions we made in this first pivotal year was to put the company into your hands.
Saalt was born out of collaboration. Before we launched, we gathered a focus group of over 1000 supporters online and asked you about everything from package design to wording on our instructions. We collaborated over small and big details, you gave us our hashtag #passthesaalt (thank you Sarah!), and the discussion was dynamic, thoughtful, and full of momentum.
When it came time to build our charity program, we again put Saalt into your hands. We asked for your help to start pilot programs across the globe, and where we could take action. We wanted to find local teachers to introduce and teach about the cup. You connected us with a roll-call of dedicated charities who, this first year, have helped us begin circulating cups and cup know-how around the world.
Since then, we have learned that the world is ready for the cup. The feedback is better than our fondest hopes. Women embrace the cup from first hearing about it, with enthusiasm at adopting a period solution that will lift both them and their sisters around the world. This year, we have seen that women across all cultures and demographics are of one mind, much more so than we ever could have dreamed. Women everywhere hold the same optimism and hope of improving each other’s lives in their local community as well as their global community.
Our charity mission has made leaps and bounds this year, but as we have gathered more feedback, we have also uncovered new problems to solve, like how to keep consistent follow-up support in remote areas, or how to give girls in boarding schools the supplies they need to sanitize their cups. We are ready to work with you in 2019 to address these problems with long-term support and solutions.
We were once reminded, while sitting in the car in a mile-long line of other cars on a two-lane Idaho road, that we weren’t in traffic, we were traffic. This thought often plays back to us as we think of the friends of Saalt who have brought us this far. We are not in a movement, we are the movement. And the thousands of little ways you push this movement forward are stretching and reshaping the world we live in to be a brighter, more hope-filled place to be a woman.
Dear friends of Saalt, you are the movement. We can’t wait for what 2019 has in store for all of us. Let’s do this. Let’s #passthesaalt.
Amber & CherieSaalt Founders
Our Mission 32018 Impact 4Passing the Saalt 5Distribution Partners 6Why Pilot Programs? 7Where We’re Working 8Sudan 9Nepal 13Kenya 17Guatemala 21Uganda 23United States 27Saalt Supporters 33
Cover photograph by @momo_boy
Photography contributed by: Julie Gascon, Kate Phelps, iACT, @momo_boy, and Kendra Seiber,
Tamika Garrison, @ranntex, DROTY
Our Mission 2018 Impact
Our Mission
2018 Impact
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We believe women empowered to live their element can change
the world. With our charity partners, we provide sustainable
period care and menstrual health education to keep girls in school
and enable women to pursue their dreams. We commit 2% of our
revenue to donate period care and help fund initiatives in education,
empowerment, and sustainability.
2,553Saalt Cups donated
12cup pilot programs started
in 10 different countries
144,895period waste products
diverted from landfills
$24,632saved on the cost of
disposables
1,800days of school funded
for girls in rural Nepal
8,782periods served
Passing the Saalt Distribution Partners
USA
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Uganda
Tanzania
Sudan
Nepal
Bangladesh
Kenya
Passing the SaaltWe partner with charities across the world to distribute Saalt Cups
and menstrual health education to areas with the most need.
Distribution Partners
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Why Pilot Programs? Where We’re Working
Where We’re Working
Highlights
Why Pilot Programs?
7 8
We know from helping thousands of new cup users that success
with the cup takes time, education, and ongoing support. Rather
than giving one-off donations, Saalt takes a holistic approach in
our cup distribution to address the needs of individual recipients
and ensure the best chance of successful cup adoption as a long-
term menstrual hygiene solution. We do this by working with our
pilot programs to provide menstrual health education prior to cup
use, and ongoing mentoring from trusted staff and peers as cup
use begins. We then collect feedback to improve cup support within
the program and local community. We also allocate funds to help
address barriers to cup adoption, whether it be access to clean
water, additional school latrines, or knowledge gaps in hygiene or
reproductive health education. Once a strong support system is in
place, pilot programs then have the opportunity to become ongoing
Saalt charity partners.
Sudan | iACT Darfur Women’s Soccer
Nepal | Her International
Kenya | Outreach to the World
Guatemala | Presbytery WNC
Uganda | Dreams of the Tropical Youth
United States | Period.org
Sudan
Sudan
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In Darfur, soccer is bringing hope to refugee women who work
tirelessly to hold their communities together. In partnership with
iACT, a Los Angeles-based non-profit providing humanitarian aid
through refugee-led solutions, Saalt provided menstrual cups to
the players of the first-ever all female refugee national soccer team,
Darfur United Women’s Team (DUWT).
“Because of your support, the dream to form the first-ever Darfur
United Women’s Team (DUWT) is now a reality....Darfuri women had
been asking and hoping for their own opportunity to represent their
people on the soccer field. Now, they have their team, along with
official DUWT gear, including shirts, training jerseys, sports hijabs,
socks, leggings, cleats, and feminine hygiene items. On behalf of the
Darfur United Women’s Team players, THANK YOU.” —Darfur United
Nepal
Nepal
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Her International was founded in 2005 to save girls as young as
six years old from lives of bonded labor by working with families
to curb the sale of their daughters into slavery, and instead, give
them their first opportunity at an education. Her advocates that
education is the common denominator towards alleviating poverty.
In the rural town of Dang, Nepal, Saalt works with Her’s educational
programs to fund scholarships for girls in need and provide Saalt
Cups for students and their mothers working toward self-reliance
through social enterprise.
“I was curious when I heard at office about menstrual cup….At first it
was difficult to me. I went to toilet and used it but suddenly it came
out. Slowly, I learned to use it. Most of the time, I have to go to field.
… I like [the cup] because…changing of pad at the field work was
tough. I had trouble to dispose the pad. It is very easy with the cup. I
can go toilet, clean it and use again. And, it saves the money. [Unlike
the] pad, I don’t have to buy it again and again.” —Pressa
Kenya
Kenya
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This fall, co-founder Amber Fawson traveled with Outreach to the
World to the village of Kiminini, Kenya to distribute Saalt Cups
and teach about menstrual hygiene. Through the effort of OWI, 76
orphaned children and teens are placed within family structures and
provided with clothing, a mattress, schools supplies, health care, and
supplemental nutrition to support them and their adopted families
through high school and vocational programs.
Amber met with the adopted mothers and, along with the local
nurse, taught the group about menstrual cups. The reception was
exuberant and the excitement was contagious. The women instantly
saw how intuitive the cup was as a solution to manage their periods,
were thrilled to release any worry about purchasing pads, and were
equally enthusiastic that the cup diverts waste.
Guatemala
Guatemala
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In November, Saalt supporter Tamika Garrison volunteered to
distribute Saalt Cups and teach about menstrual health to women in
the small village of Aldea Sintana, Guatemala. Fueled by the interest
of fellow church sisters she introduced the cup to on a former visit, she
pitched the idea of teaching about cups to her Presbytery’s charity
partnership to help women remain healthy and active during their
periods. Presbytery WNC works to facilitate female empowerment
through micro lending and domestic violence education, as well as
support needy children and youth through education and nutrition
programs.
“These women had NEVER had these conversations before. They
were not using tampons because they could not afford this type of
care. They were completely unaware that the anatomy of a woman
has two separate holes for urinating and bleeding. They cried when
we were finished because they were so happy to be able to be open
about these subjects and know that this will save them money and
effort during their period. From the bottom of my heart and the
hearts of 30 Guatemalan women, THANK YOU!!!.” —Tamika Garrison
Uganda
Dreams of the Tropical Youth Uganda (DROTY) is a youth-led non-
profit organization that works with vulnerable and disadvantaged
youth in rural communities. They work to bridge the knowledge gap
on personal health and HIV/AIDS through awareness and prevention,
promoting youth livelihoods and environmental conservation. This
summer, Saalt donated menstrual cups to present to school girls as
an alternative to hard-to-find sanitary pads. The goal, as team leader
Timothy Arnold described, was to improve menstrual hygiene among
these adolescent students and encourage the girls to stay in school
throughout their cycle “so as to attain their education prospects and
consequently their future goals.”
“My menstrual cup has been very beneficial to me because I can
easily wash and reuse it. I had a challenge accessing sanitary pads
but now I do not have to fear when my periods come. Because
menstruation is an issue taken with a lot of stigma, I could never ask
for sanitary pads from my father and often times I would miss school
or improvise with pieces of rags. Thank you DROTY!” —Annet
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United States
United States
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Leading our U.S. donation efforts, Period.org distributes cups to
domestic organizations like the Hopscotch Health Foundation,
which tackles youth diabetes through nutrition and fitness initiatives.
This summer, Saalt Cups were distributed to Native American
communities at the Blackfeet Reservation in northwest Montana
along with education in menstrual hygiene management (MHM).
We’re fueled by the movement Period.org has created to raise
awareness about period poverty while simultaneously eliminating
taboos and drawing passionate advocacy among the rising
generation. Their large-scale packing events have an incredible
synergy that not only elevate periods to a new level of cool, but
inspire supporters to continue doing good within the community.
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Back to School for
Her Too
30 Days, 30 Saalt Supporters Raise Awareness about Period Poverty
This September, Saalt supporters across
the U.S. joined our Saalt Back to School
campaign to raise awareness about period
poverty. From kickboxers, to macrame artists,
to chefs, women from different backgrounds
came together in the name of something
they all have in common—a period—and the
belief that everyone with one should have
access to quality period care.
Saalt Supporters
Thank you.
www.saaltco.com/impact@saaltco
#passthesaalt