WHAT WE DO
Menstrual cups, trusted local delivery, education and ongoing support, so every girl can stay in school, know her body and own her future.
A period shouldn’t keep a girl out of school
The Cova Projectprovides menstrual cups and menstrual health education to girls and women in developing communities around the world. Little silicone scholarships that keep girls in school and leading a full and dignified life.
Our mission is simply: access, education and dignity. Keep girls in school. Boost their confidence. Help them to learn and understand their own bodies. Give them the opportunity to change the world.
We provide menstrual cups through the Cova Coalition, our network of trusted, locally led partners delivering education and ongoing support on the ground.
Menstrual cups
Safe, reusable period care that can support a girl or woman for up to 10 years.
The Cova Coalition
Trusted local organisations lead each program, bringing community knowledge, relationships and experience.
Education
Locally led menstrual and reproductive health education builds knowledge, confidence and agency.
Ongoing support
Follow-up gives participants the guidance and confidence to use their cup comfortably and successfully.
Local knowledge leads the work
“If a girl is provided with menstrual health management tools, her chances of staying in school are 30 to 50% higher.”
Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, former Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Namibia
Why menstrual cups?
In developing communities, pads are extremely expensive. Make-shift solutions are common using old clothes, bedding or newspaper. These solutions tend cause rashes, blisters and infections. Reusable pads are a solution but can be hard to dry in the wet season and use quite a bit of water to clean, which is difficult in the dry season.
Menstrual cups can be re-used for up to 10 years
A cup can be worn for up to 12 hours, after which it is simply removed, emptied, and re-inserted (meaning girls can avoid unsafe bathroom facilities in schools)
The cups are very easy to keep clean, requiring only a very small amount of water
Menstrual health education is vital for empowering girls, therefore, part of each cup distribution is a 3-hour training session run by the local community partner with educational booklets provided in an appropriate language with visual instructions for communities with low literacy. Follow up and support are always provided post distribution. The Cova Project is passionate about supporting our local partners and fostering outstanding local leaders in growing their skills and capabilities.
Why Should You Give To The Cova Project?
"There are so many problems in this world that are seemingly impossible to solve. Problems that require unthinkable amounts of money and even when resourced, barely seem to shift.
This, however, is not one of those problems.
Women around the world are resourceful. When faced with the challenge of not having access to period products, they use pillow stuffing, cloths and newspaper as substitutes, all of which can be a personal health hazard. Most dishearteningly, there is also a culture of young women resorting to using their bodies as currency in exchange for pads.
We can change that.
A menstrual cup, in the hands of a girl who knows how to use it, changes the next 10 years of her life. She's in the classroom on the days she used to spend at home. She's at work on the days she used to lose. She's making decisions about her own life.
And I've seen what happens next.
The girls in the communities we've worked in for many years, they're different. They speak their minds. They're educated. They know how to advocate for themselves. And as educated and employed women, they'll advocate and provide for the generations coming after them. It might look like one little cup. But it's so much more. It's access, education and dignity."
Geena Dunne, Founder and CEO, The Cova Project
Back a girl. Change her future.
Pick an amount, watch what it becomes.