
“If someone asks me, are you satisfied? My answer is ‘yes’,” said Mr Muruganantham, adding, “The message has reached. When we started working towards this cause, a wife would not talk about menstruation with her husband, a daughter will not discuss it with her mother, but now, the times have changed. We have made this a public topic. It’s no longer a taboo and everyone discusses it openly. We succeed.”
Mr Muruganantham’s ideology is simple. He believes that our country cannot be called ‘developed’ if we cannot make mothers of this nation healthy. “By looking at Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, we cannot say our nation is developed. In many villages, there are no roads. One has to walk for two hours to reach the main road. Many nations want to adopt shortcuts – build six lane roads, metro rails, mono rails, but it’s of no use when the mothers are unhealthy,” the Padma Shri awardee said.
Ours is a sub-continent and our nation needs “hundreds of Murugas,” he said, adding, it’s for this reason, “I have put all the details of producing a low-cost sanitary making machine online, so that everyone can copy the machine and make use of it. “At first, everyone called my work ‘philanthropy’, but I told them, I am an entrepreneur for profit. It’s a need based-profit margin to sustain the model and the world then started calling me a social entrepreneur,” said Mr Muruganantham who found his mention in the list of 100 Most Influential People in the world.
“World doesn’t need more millionaires or billionaires, world urgently needs social entrepreneurs.” – this is the teaching he shares with all the students in colleges he is invited to speak on. He said, I tell the students, “The main objective of social entrepreneurship is to create a social impact, followed by profits.”
There are 4,500 sanitary pad making factories under his organisation Jayaashree Industries that are spread across India. Calling his model a self-sustaining one, he said, “Our model keeps women at the centre. It works on women-to-women model. The women make the sanitary pads and sell them in their local areas. Since the product is needed every month, the women are able to sustain easily.”
Mr Muruganantham said that he first focused in the BIMARU states – Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and then went on to spread the model in other parts of India. In rural India, women have no idea about health and hygiene. They suffer from urinary tract infection which, when ignored, can lead to cervical cancer, he said. So instead of selling machines, I used to barter it for goats and buffaloes, he recalled. Slowly, women also started exchanging pads for potatoes and tomatoes and the change began.
Recalling the happiest moment of his life, Mr Murugunatham shared, “We had set up a machine for the Gujjar community in Uttarakhand on a hill top in 2007. It’s a tribal belt and depends completely on livestock. No child had ever been to a school in that area.” After one year, he got a call from a village woman from there who expressed her joy that a girl from her community has gone to the school for the first time. “That was my biggest reward,” he said.
Apart from setting up sanitary pad making machines, the centres have also started “Knowledge Centres” for women and girls. These centres have local women gynaecologists or senior women from the village. Here, women can come and ask any questions related to pregnancy, menstruation, uterus, termination of pregnancy and their doubts are cleared.
Talking about the napkins, he said that depending on the size of the pad, each napkin costs around Rs 1.50 to Rs 2.50. It is completely biodegradable and uses no chemicals. “Just bury it and it will decompose,” he said. “We believe in making things simple as only then it would reach at the bottom of the pyramid,” he added.
The sanitary pads have no brand name or brand ambassador. They are known by thousands of different names in different areas – Nari Suraksha, Sukh Chaen, Sakhi, to name a few. Sharing about his mission, he said, “We want to create 1 million dignified rural employments for women and want to convert India into a 100 per cent sanitary-napkin-using country.”
It’s amazing designed for me to have a web site,
which is good designed for my experience. thanks admin
I was recommended this blog by my cousin.
I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about
my difficulty. You are amazing! Thanks!
Excellent goods from you, man. I have understand your
stuff previous to and you’re just too magnificent.
I actually like what you’ve acquired here, really like
what you’re saying and the way in which
you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it smart.
I can not wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great web
site.
I savor, cause I found just what I was looking for.
You have ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great
day. Bye
Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to
be on the internet the simplest thing to be
aware of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people think about worries that they just do not know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people can take a signal.
Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
What’s up, this weekend is pleasant for me, because this point
in time i am reading this enormous informative paragraph here at my residence.
“Thank you ” Murugadas Ji. Your selfless service to come up with such invention is great. I read your story and the pains which you went through during such invention. Best part I felt is the way you are driving it through women who is looking forward for a source to better their livelihood. No words to describe other than saying, “Nanri”.
Thanks Murugadas ji ! Few days before I read your story and the pain you went through. . After your invention, I just love the way you take it around to the people in need instead of making it another big business. Hats up to your efforts and your pure heart to have a hygienic women society. No words better to express rather than saying,”Nanri”.
Great man, India needs people like him.The scientific innovation should reach common people.
It is really amazing that, he could reach rural populations
Truly Inspiring..How can we procure it in bulk.
once upon a time men used to shy to buy sanitary pads from shops for their wives. This Man has proved society wrong that personal hygiene is not gender oriented but every ones job. Also he alone has proved that the price of a sanitary pad is quite low as compared to the big Business Pharmaceuticals. Its high time such people are appreciated by the Govt . He deserves a Bharat Ratna Award.
This is enormous… Salute to you Mr Murugan
Tasin Junaidi
You are great.inspiring person.
Dear Arunachalam,
Can you PL contact me at below email .
Best Rgds
VJ