Projects
The My Cup Story
It all began in 2010 when Graham and I decided to travel on an adventure motorbike through a few countries in Africa. Travelling this way has its challenges; space being your number one issue. Also, Graham has first-hand experience with Africa and how in some of the poorer countries you cannot find supplies for hundreds of kilometres. This highlighted the fact that I am a woman, and I will need a few necessities at some point along the way. You can’t pack copious amounts of sanitary products ...
It all began in 2010 when Graham and I decided to travel on an adventure motorbike through a few countries in Africa. Travelling this way has its challenges; space being your number one issue. Also, Graham has first-hand experience with Africa and how in some of the poorer countries you cannot find supplies for hundreds of kilometres. This highlighted the fact that I am a woman, and I will need a few necessities at some point along the way. You can’t pack copious amounts of sanitary products due to space constraints. I decided that the best way forward was to order a menstrual cup from overseas. This came at a high price of R400, but I knew it would benefit me even it is did set me back initially.
So our adventure began. We travelled through some of the poorest places in Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Meeting local people, and sleeping among them in a few places that left much to be desired, although this made me appreciate what I have, so it was an excellent experience. My menstrual cup came in very handy a number of times, and because of this, I became acutely aware of the issues that come with this very natural occurrence: firstly there are no shops for long distances where you can buy sanitary products, secondly, the local people are so poor, that even if their local dukha’s (spaza shops) sold sanitary products they would not be able to buy them on a regular basis anyway, and thirdly where do you dispose of a disposable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable product?
After seeing first hand these challenges that women have to face on a fairly frequently basis and without discrimination (unless they are pregnantof course), Graham and I decided to embark on a mission to develop our own menstrual cup; MyCup. We realised that there is a great need for sanitary products, but a productfor all womenthat is sustainable, affordable, and accessible!
This led us down a long road of research and development inspired by the marginalized women of Africa.
After all the R&D, we approached a NGO, Khulisa Social Solutions. Khulisa runs many programmes to help uplift and change the lives of disadvantaged people. They have been running for over 14 years and by partnering with them we would be able reach many women and empower them.
We started off by running several pilot projects across South Africa to determine acceptability and usability of our product. Because the menstrual cup concept is very new to many people, we thought that it would be a good idea to see if our local people would even try such a thing!
I ran the training sessions with each group and gave them each a MyCup and information and guidance on menstruation, feminine hygiene and MyCup. Six weeks later, the response was so positive! Women who come from very traditional back grounds and that have to put up with religious and cultural influences used MyCup, and loved it! We are now into our third month, and women are now asking where they can buy MyCups for their mothers, sisters and friends.
MyCup Menstrual Cup helps empower women. It may be something very small, but to those who have tried it and love it, it has changed the way they think about menstruation. It is now something natural and healthy, and they have the confidence to continue with their daily lives without being hindered.
It all began in 2010 when Graham and I decided to travel on an adventure motorbike through a few countries in Africa. Travelling this way has its challenges; space being your number one issue. Also, Graham has first-hand experience with Africa and how in some of the poorer countries you cannot find supplies for hundreds of kilometres. This highlighted the fact that I am a woman, and I will need a few necessities at some point along the way. You can’t pack copious amounts of sanitary products ...
It all began in 2010 when Graham and I decided to travel on an adventure motorbike through a few countries in Africa. Travelling this way has its challenges; space being your number one issue. Also, Graham has first-hand experience with Africa and how in some of the poorer countries you cannot find supplies for hundreds of kilometres. This highlighted the fact that I am a woman, and I will need a few necessities at some point along the way. You can’t pack copious amounts of sanitary products due to space constraints. I decided that the best way forward was to order a menstrual cup from overseas. This came at a high price of R400, but I knew it would benefit me even it is did set me back initially.
So our adventure began. We travelled through some of the poorest places in Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Meeting local people, and sleeping among them in a few places that left much to be desired, although this made me appreciate what I have, so it was an excellent experience. My menstrual cup came in very handy a number of times, and because of this, I became acutely aware of the issues that come with this very natural occurrence: firstly there are no shops for long distances where you can buy sanitary products, secondly, the local people are so poor, that even if their local dukha’s (spaza shops) sold sanitary products they would not be able to buy them on a regular basis anyway, and thirdly where do you dispose of a disposable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable product?
After seeing first hand these challenges that women have to face on a fairly frequently basis and without discrimination (unless they are pregnantof course), Graham and I decided to embark on a mission to develop our own menstrual cup; MyCup. We realised that there is a great need for sanitary products, but a productfor all womenthat is sustainable, affordable, and accessible!
This led us down a long road of research and development inspired by the marginalized women of Africa.
After all the R&D, we approached a NGO, Khulisa Social Solutions. Khulisa runs many programmes to help uplift and change the lives of disadvantaged people. They have been running for over 14 years and by partnering with them we would be able reach many women and empower them.
We started off by running several pilot projects across South Africa to determine acceptability and usability of our product. Because the menstrual cup concept is very new to many people, we thought that it would be a good idea to see if our local people would even try such a thing!
I ran the training sessions with each group and gave them each a MyCup and information and guidance on menstruation, feminine hygiene and MyCup. Six weeks later, the response was so positive! Women who come from very traditional back grounds and that have to put up with religious and cultural influences used MyCup, and loved it! We are now into our third month, and women are now asking where they can buy MyCups for their mothers, sisters and friends.
MyCup Menstrual Cup helps empower women. It may be something very small, but to those who have tried it and love it, it has changed the way they think about menstruation. It is now something natural and healthy, and they have the confidence to continue with their daily lives without being hindered.
Our My Cup Projects
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