The Year That Did Not Break Us

The year 2020 was a difficult year for everyone. Many people lost their loved ones and many others lost their lives to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For many not-for-profit organizations operating in Canada and in Zimbabwe, the question was how to help those in distress quickly and in a manner that addressed the needs of beneficiaries. G&N took the opportunity to reflect on its mission and find ways to address the needs of the community by continuing to provide reusable menstrual pads to the girls (periods don’t stop for pandemics), providing financial support to other organizations purchasing much needed PPE in Zimbabwe, and continuing to work on making its social enterprise, Healthier Happier Periods, a reality.

 G&N’s commitment to the Mukombami community continues with great achievements including: 

• Buying 200 packs of reusable menstrual pads for 200 girls to attend school without any interruption during their menstrual cycle 

• Providing PPE to frontline workers and food hampers to families in need. This was in partnership with other NGOs in Zimbabwe. G&N is committed to the safety and wellbeing of the community we serve. 

• Raising over $5,000 for the G&N’s menstrual pads project. 

• Receiving final approval on land ownership from the Goromonzi Rural District Council for the construction of a factory/community centre close to Mukombami. 

• We relaunched the “My First Period Campaign” with visual representations of the stories on Instagram. The campaign was successful. G&N managed to engage with a different audience and spread more awareness about period poverty.

Admittedly, 2020 also posed challenges for G&N. One such challenge was we were unable to host our annual Cocktails for a Cause fundraiser this December. However, we are fortunate to have your support. We remain excited and optimistic about our work and future projects:

Provision of Reusable Menstrual Pads to school-aged girls in Mukombami and surrounding villages. G&N will continue to provide girls with reusable menstrual products to maintain their dignity and prevent any menstrual-related interruptions to their education.

The Factory/Community Project. G&N will be actively raising funds for the immediate construction of the building. The building will house the production of G&N reusable pads and provide meeting rooms for G&N workshops, a communal workspace for female entrepreneurs and a public meeting area for all.

Business Clinic/Entrepreneurial Workshops. We are excited to introduce Business Clinics as a component of our entrepreneurship workshops that we will start up again in 2021. Our goal is to continue encouraging the development of skills for self-sufficiency for the women and girls in Mukombami village, with a focus on eliminating the future need for G&N.