Deidra Mwalimu wants to help women be whatever they want—without limitations.
Her nonprofit, Network of Women (NOW), assists young girls and women in need by donating feminine hygiene products. And this week, it hosts its first annual End Period Poverty fundraising campaign.
About 10% percent of menstruating American college students experience period poverty on a monthly basis, which means they face limited access to feminine hygiene products, education, facilities and waste management, according to research by BMC Women’s Health. And 14% experienced it at least once in the past year.
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Mwalimu founded NOW in 2020 with an aim to supply feminine hygiene products and support women’s health and wellness in Baton Rouge and beyond. It is sponsored by the LSU Women’s Center, Athleta Inc. and others.
The nonprofit has distributed Ubibi—a Kiswahili word that means “Grand Motherhood”—bags packed with reusable and disposable menstrual pads, underwear, soap and other basic hygiene necessities in Louisiana and Mississippi, Tanzania, Nepal, and Thailand.
Mwalimu hopes these efforts will humanize period poverty.
“Everything that involves a female’s reproductive system is part of looking at her as a whole human being,” she says.
On Friday, Sept. 30, at 6:30 p.m., NOW will kickstart its campaign with an introductory video on its YouTube channel. The following day, supporters can meet in person for a Saturday cocktail party in honor of International Day of the Girl Child at The Guru Baton Rouge between 6:30-9:30 p.m. There will be a DJ, selfie station, silent auction, and cocktails. Tickets are available for purchase here.
The fundraising efforts will continue with an End Period Poverty Supply Drive through Oct. 11. NOW will provide multiple feminine hygiene drop-off locations around LSU’s campus. Pads, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, lotion and wipes are all accepted donations.
Donation locations on the LSU Campus locations include:
- Women’s Center, 5 Union Square
- Geology & Geophysics, HE235 Howe-Russell-Kniffen
- College of Art + Design, 102 Design Building – Interior Design – Fourth floor
- College of Business, 4011 Business Education Complex East – Third Floor
- School of Journalism, 213A Journalism Building
The organization also provides donation drop-off locations at Athleta stores in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans.
A portion of these donations will be distributed to Louisiana college students. The remaining products will be put into Ubibi bags and distributed during NOW’s upcoming initiative projects around the globe.
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For the campaign’s finale, Network of Women will lead a discussion panel on its Instagram Live on Oct. 11, from 7-8 p.m. to serve as an educational resource on period poverty. Mwalimu has invited three guests to speak on women’s basic needs and rights—including breaking the stigma of discussing them.
“No one wants to hear about a woman’s period,” Mwalimu says. “Anytime we’re talking about female reproductive systems, it’s very taboo.”
Find more information about the Network of Women—and its efforts to normalize these kinds of conversations—here.