If we talk about the present scenario of our world, it won't be wrong to say that we have achieved enough. From walking naked as the early man, today we have the fanciest clothes to put on our body. We have built homes to live, and each country has enough resources to fulfill the needs of its citizens. In a way, we have developed a lot, and we are progressing with every passing day, yet, why are we lagging behind when it comes to women? Even after so much of development, we are not even able to fulfill the basic feminine hygiene needs. Developed countries like USA, India, UK, Russia, and others spend billions on science and technology, movies, even on a political advertisement, yet they fail to provide enough funds to spend on supporting women to afford the basic sanitary pads.
According to a study, 70 percent of women worldwide can’t even afford a basic sanitary pad. And the sad part, the concerned authorities are still busy making policies rather than proactively taking any action about it. But, as people say, all's fair in life if you’re getting what you want, even after delays.
In a situation where the policymakers still fail to address the problem by meeting the basic sanitization demands of the women around the world, there’s someone who woke up and took the pledge to help the deceased. Meet the 18-year-old lady with the big golden heart, Nadya Okamoto, who founded a Non-Profit organization to provide tampons and pads to women who can't afford them.
Nadya Okamoto is a social entrepreneur and activist, known for her leadership as the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization PERIOD. Nadia Okamoto was born and brought up in New York City, and she founded the PERIOD on December 2014 with her classmate Vincent Forand. Periods can be a challenge for any woman–but for a homeless woman, they can be devastating. Nadia felt the problem herself in her high school when she went through a tough time. Her mother lost the job for seven continuous months, and she could barely afford sanitary pads for herself.
This duration of seven months was her time of realization when she understood that feminine hygiene products should not be a luxury, but a health necessity. Thankfully, she is out of her tough times, and she is doing all she can to ensure that not a single women go through the same problem. Currently, Okamoto is a freshman at Harvard University, and her organization 'PERIODS' has over forty chapters at high schools and colleges across the country. While talking about her days of struggle, she shared her concern that sparked the idea of Camions of Care. Presently, the Camions of Care, after it was launched in 2014, has addressed over 25,000 periods in 17 states and 9 different countries. Speaking further, she expressed her plans and hopes to extend her services to her organization to the third world countries in need.
Nadia Okamoto, founder of Camions of Care, or the lady with a big heart is currently nominated for L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Awards. The much-coveted International cosmetic brand, L'Oreal Paris provides a platform to young, successful and extraordinary women to acknowledge their nobility and achievements. They further nominate a passionate and compelling woman every year as their National Honoree. Then, they award them with $25,000 to support their cause.
Nadia Okamoto is a true inspiration for people to follow. She has proved with her brilliant work that age can never be an excuse if you have plans to do something big that can impact lives positively.
We hope to see, raise and meet such women in the world who are not only investing their blood and sweat to make lives simpler for those in need, but also setting examples for our future generations to follow. When women become powerful and empowered, we all strive to flow in the compassionate clan.
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