Fernanda Gonzalez UTRGV– The Intersectional Feminist Student Organization (IFSO) started the “End Period Poverty” project which intends to distribute menstrual hygiene products in female restrooms in the university.
According to the U.N. Women period poverty refers to the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation, hygiene facilities, education and awareness on how to manage menstrual health.
Ximena Ruiz, End Period Poverty co-founder, said the project is a team effort with more than 20 volunteers in both campuses.
The rebranded project started on the UTRGV Brownsville campus where Co-Founder Kyle Torres said she took note of the high traffic areas of the campus, to get products distributed there first.
“If I can’t get a full restock of the day and have to go to the second half of the campus,” Torres said. “Then I will update the people to go to the second half of the campus, then I will update people and let them know I’ll be putting them in these buildings.”
Torres spoke on some of the feedback she had received from students.
“Pretty much a lot of people know where they are [the bins with the products],” she said. “And I’ve gotten a lot of feedback of people saying things like, this has saved my life. This is amazing, People just like giving compliments. I’ve even had people refill.”
Ruiz said the project is possible through donations and volunteering. She said the Office of Advocacy and Violence Prevention and the Office of the Dean have been of great help for the development of the project.
“We have been doing a lot of the strategies and OAVP actually have actually offer us that if we don’t even have donations, we can always refer to them so we can actually distribute those [products],” said Ruiz.
Ruiz said even though the Brownsville campus is restocked every week by Torres, the Edinburg campus is looking for donations to suffice the larger area
“So, if you have donations to donate to us, like we accept them, we also accept monetary donations, but we prefer the product donations more than anything.”
Restocks for the Brownsville campus are every Tuesday and Thursday, and for the Edinburg campus the restocks still depend on the amount of donations given to the organization.
To volunteer or donate to the project visit the engagement zone.
