Let Us Explain

WHAT WE DO

The Cova Project provides menstrual cups and menstrual health education to girls and women in developing communities around the world. We aim to bridge the school attendance gap, caused by barriers due to menstruation. We create and distribute educational materials, with accurate visual representation of the girls, to build confidence as they strengthen their knowledge around personal health and development.

Our goal is simply: access, education and dignity. Keep girls in school. Boost their confidence. Help them to learn and understand their own bodies. Give them the opportunity to change the world.

Our Mission

"If a girl is provided with menstrual health management tools, her chances of staying in school are 30-50 percent higher", Katrina Hansa-Himarwa, Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Namibia

50% of Kenyan school girls do not have access to sanitary products

In Malawi, the annual cost of sanitary pads is equal to the annual cost of school fees. So, if you're a parent in Malawi with a son and a daughter, who is the most economical to have educated?

It's estimated that girls miss up to 50 days of school a year due to their periods, which often times leads to dropping out entirely. Menstruation is a physical and financial barrier to the progression of women in developing communities but there is a solution and The Cova Project exists to provide it...

Why Period Poverty?

What We Do & How

We provide menstrual cups and menstrual health education to girls experiencing period poverty.

Why menstrual cups?

In developing communities, pads are extremely expensive. Make-shift solutions are common using old clothes, bedding or newspaper. These solutions tend cause rashes, blisters and infections. Reusable pads are a solution but can be hard to dry in the wet season and use quite a bit of water to clean, which is difficult in the dry season.

Menstrual cups can be re-used for up to 10 years

A cup can be worn for up to 12 hours, after which it is simply removed, emptied, and re-inserted (meaning girls can avoid unsafe bathroom facilities in schools)
The cups are very easy to keep clean, requiring only a very small amount of water

Education is everything

What kind of education do you do?

Menstrual health education is vital for empowering girls, therefore, part of each cup distribution is a 3-hour training session run by the local community partner with educational booklets provided in an appropriate language with visual instructions for communities with low literacy. Follow up and support are always provided post distribution. The Cova Project is passionate about supporting our local partners and fostering outstanding local leaders in growing their skills and capabilities.

73% of girls say the cup significantly increases their confidence when menstruating

Why Should You Give To The Cova Project?

There are so many problems in this world that are seemingly impossible to solve. Problems that involve unthinkable amounts of money and man power and even when resourced, barely seem to make a difference or have measurable outcomes. This, however, is not one of those problems.

Women around the world are resourceful. When faced with the challenge of not having access to traditional sanitary products, they use pillow stuffing, cloths and newspaper as substitutes, all of which can be a personal health hazard. Most dishearteningly, there is also a culture of young women resorting to using their bodies as currency in exchange for these products.

We can change that.

The Cova Project is an Australian charity dedicated to providing benevolent relief to girls and women of reproductive age across the world who are experiencing poverty, suffering, distress and disadvantage due to lack of financial resources and access to basic necessities.

The Cova Project purchases and supplies menstrual cups to local community partners for distribution to girls and woman who cannot afford these products. We work with local community partners to provide menstrual health education tailored to cultural norms and language. We include visuals of the girls created by African artists, to build confidence as they strengthen their knowledge.

If every woman had the ability to experience her cycle, equipped with tools that make it possible to remain in school or at work every day of the year, they would have a much greater chance at being competitive and thriving in these environments.

The Cova Project is proud to work in service to this goal.