Shoheeda is a Rohingya refugee. She's just twelve years old but, like at least 700,000 others from Myanmar, her life has been torn apart by violence.
She was forced to flee her home due to devastating conflict, leaving behind the life she knew, to seek refuge in a camp in Bangladesh.
Periods can be a difficult (and expensive) time for anyone who menstruates. But for thousands of women and girls like Shoheeda, who have had to flee home with nothing, it’s a monthly emergency. Many will face an impossible choice between their next meal or a sanitary pad.
ActionAid provided Shoheeda with a hygiene kit containing essentials like soap, clean underwear and sanitary pads, so she can manage her periods safely and with dignity.
Since the outbreak of violence in 2017, we’ve distributed over 40,000 hygiene kits to Rohingya refugees, and we're working hard to end period poverty for women and girls all over the world. But there are still more girls like Shoheeda who need our help.
Please donate to help us reach more girls like Shoheeda. A regular gift from you could help us be there for Rohingya refugees - not just today, but in the months to come.
Because no girl, anywhere, should have to choose between food and sanitary protection.
How your donation can help
Your donation could help refugees manage their periods safely.
About ActionAid
ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty.
Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.
We operate in rural and urban communities across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
We’re committed to ending the cycle of violence in communities around the world, enabling women’s economic empowerment, and supporting women’s and girls’ rights during humanitarian crises.
Our work supporting women and girls in emergencies
When a disaster strikes, women and girls tell us that amongst the items that they need are sanitary towels, wipes and soap. Without these products, they are forced to use improvised methods to manage their periods including torn pieces of clothing, rags or dirty rugs. This can be ineffective, uncomfortable and unhygienic.
That is why we provide sanitary kits in our humanitarian response work, alongside other essentials including food, water and shelter.
We have distributed sanitary towels in crises as wide-ranging as the Nepal earthquakes of 2015, in Jordan and in Greece as part of our response to the Syrian refugee crisis, in East Africa during the food crisis of 2017 and to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in 2017-18.
They are often distributed at our Women Friendly Spaces, which we set up in the aftermath of disasters to provide a safe space for women and girls who may be at risk of violence.
How we use the money you give us
For every £1 we spend:
72p is spent on humanitarian and development programmes and strengthening our global federation
15p is spent on fundraising
10p is spent on support costs (running the organisation)
3p is spent on campaigning for change
These figures are taken from our expenditure in 2021
We’re committed to keeping our supporters happy and being open and honest about how we fundraise. To find out more you can read our supporter promise.
Page updated 5 October 2022
