Using this site

THE BASICS

All of the resources available on this website are available to download and use for non-commercial purposes. We always enjoy hearing about how and where our resources are used, so please fill out the optional form on each page of resources to keep us updated!

We provide some guides and tips for each resource, but feel free to adapt them to suit the context and audience. We ask that you please credit Projet Jeune Leader when sharing the resources with others.

BEST PRACTICES

As practitioners and experts yourselves, you are well-suited to use and adapt these resources to fit the particular needs and context of the particular communities you work with. As you do, here are a few points to keep in mind:

Acknowledge the sensitivity of the topic.

Menstruation should never be a subject to be embarrassed, disgusted, or angry about – but unfortunately we aren’t quite there yet. Projet Jeune Leader's work in this area has revealed that menstruation is still treated as a taboo in Madagascar. Especially if this is your first time addressing menstrual hygiene in a community, make sure you have built trust with the audience(s) and take time easing into personal or potentially uncomfortable issues. Leave time and space for reflection, debriefing, and discussion. Consider making participants feel more comfortable by working in smaller groups separated by gender, age, or familiarity.

Embrace an interactive approach.

Research (and common sense) tells us that learners are more likely to absorb and retain information when they can be active participants. This is especially true for education intended to result in behavior or attitude changes. Most of our resources are designed to be used in an interactive manner, including with adult audiences. We provide some ideas along with the resources for how to supplement the resources with interactive activities.

General tips are to:

keep group sizes small when possible so that everyone gets a chance to speak
prepare discussion and reflection questions to accompany an activity or resource
minimize the amount of time that you (as the facilitator/teacher/trainer) speak and instead give the “microphone” to participants
avoid standing in front of a room of participants sitting in rows and instead sit with participants in a circle to create a more equal and comfortable environment.

Finally, we love using icebreakers to make participants feel more comfortable in a group and raise energy levels. An icebreaker activity can be as simple as turning on some energetic music and leading an impromptu dance session!

THEN WHAT?

Don’t stop here! You’ll find some of our favorite and most effective resources on this site, but they are just intended to be a starting point. Feel free to integrate the resources with your own activities, as well as to craft your own. Engage with the communities you work with to expand and deepen conversations around menstrual hygiene. Collaborate with other partners to share ideas and incorporate menstrual hygiene education into your programming.

AND FINALLY...

We would love your feedback and ideas.

Feel free to use this form to tell us how you used the resources and how they worked for you, if there are types of resources you would like to see more of, and/or if you have created any of your own that you would like to share with us. As we expand and strengthen Fadimbolana.info, we would also love to know what your barriers are to integrating menstrual hygiene education into your work and what support would help overcome them.