IMPAKT/M.A.D was founded in February 2017 by a group of 6 Zimbabwean women following an informal discussion on WhatsApp on the plight of young girls living in impoverished communities in the country.
Central to the informal discussion was the rising discourse on how young girls from poor families are repeatedly missing school due to lack of menstrual hygiene products/care.
The team members saw a critical gap that disadvantaged young girls because of a natural and biological predisposition.
While the existing evidence on the issue is still nascent, it was however strong enough to convince the 6 members to start an initiative that will help address this gap.
The group was however cautious not to make bold statements and generalizations that providing sanitary products will increase school attendance.
Instead, they agreed that the likely association should however not be ignored because of a dearth in robust evidence over the matter. The team believed that prompt and adequate response to the menstrual hygiene needs of girls will contribute in keeping more girls in school, and the subsequent gains associated with this are numerous.
In addition, the team mutually agreed that availing sanitary products is also important in preserving the girl’s dignity, safety and general well-being during menstruation.
A newspaper article in the Sunday Mail on 28 May 2017, stated that over 62% of girls in Zimbabwe do not afford sanitary pads. The article further indicated that the majority of these girls opt to miss school for fear of being laughed at.
We believe that girls should experience their periods as a normal milestone in human development rather than as a tragic event simply because they do not have access to adequate care.
As rising interest in the area continues to grow, the team members saw that the majority of initiatives for menstrual hygiene care focuses on providing sanitary towels or tampons but without the underwear to go with it.
The team members saw this as another gap which needed to be dealt with. They concluded that it was highly likely that a girl whose family could not afford sanitary wear could also not afford appropriate underwear.
It is through this lens that Project IMPAKT/MAD was conceived. And through a generous donation from a group of women sponsors of the PEO International Peace Scholarship: New York Chapter, (USA) the project was officially registered in Zimbabwe.
The IMPAKT/M.A.D Foundation quest to run several projects which fall under the name of the Foundation: