Dhunche, Rasuwa District, Nepal

'The sound of an earthquake- the roar of the earth- is something remarkably frightening. It is one of those things you will never be able to describe, or forget.'

The magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Nepal in 2015 killed about 9000 people, and injured about 22,000. Its epicenter was in Gorkha province but the shock was felt throughout Kathmandu and as far as Mount Everest.

Our latest Freedom Cups project saw us go to a small town called Dhunche.  Piles of rubble, landslides, and huge cracks slashed across buildings were a common sight along our 6 hour journey from Kathmandu.

Dhunche has a small privately-run boarding school where we were hosted at. We conducted our session with teenage girls from the boarding school, as well as a neighboring public school. Female village leaders were also invited to learn about their bodies and receive a Freedom Cup. 

We find it important to start with both the young and the old, as it is the young who can change the narrative and the old that can chip away at old mindsets.

After delivering our Freedom Cups session- teaching women a bit about their bodies as well as talking them through the benefits of and how to use a menstrual cup, we were pleasantly surprised at how open and receptive the Nepalese women are.  

Many of the women are still using cloth here in this town, and we can only hope that the Freedom Cup does a small part to make their hard lives, slightly easier.