Udaan : Menstrual Health & Hygiene
Udaan means flight. It is the right word for what this programme is really about not just teaching girls about their bodies, but giving them the knowledge, confidence, and freedom to rise above the silence and shame that have surrounded menstruation for far too long.
In the slum communities where Navsarjan works, menstruation is rarely spoken about openly. Girls often reach adolescence without ever having had an honest conversation about what is happening to their bodies. They learn through whispers, myths, and misinformation picking up fears rather than facts. The result is not just confusion. It is shame. It is girls missing school every month. It is women managing their health in the dark, alone.
Navsarjan believes this silence is not inevitable. And Udaan is how it is broken.
Reaching Girls Where They Are
Navsarjan brings menstrual health education directly into the communities where adolescent girls live not in a distant clinic or a formal seminar hall, but right in their neighbourhoods, in spaces that feel familiar and safe. Through health and wellness camps held across slum areas, girls are invited into honest, open conversations about their bodies and their lives. Every year camps were organised across all areas, with over 500 plus adolescent girls participating. These were not one-size-fits-all sessions. The programme was designed to meet girls where they were curious, sometimes anxious, often carrying questions they had never had permission to ask.
The conversations in these camps cover what menstruation actually is, how it works, why it happens, what is normal, and what is not. But they go further than biology. Girls also discuss physical and mental health, nutrition and hygiene, education and career, the right age for marriage, and how to make informed decisions about their own lives. Because a girl who understands her body is better placed to protect it, to speak up for herself, and to imagine a future that belongs to her.
When Doctors Enter the Conversation
One of the most powerful elements of Udaan is who shows up to these camps.
Navsarjan has partnered with some gynaecologists, who come directly into slum communities to speak with girls and women in plain, accessible language. For many of these girls, this is the first time they have ever sat in a room with a doctor who is talking specifically to them, about their health, without judgement.
These medical professionals address not just menstrual health but broader adolescent concerns puberty, reproductive health, the importance of regular check-ups, and early awareness about conditions like cervical and breast cancer. Alongside health conversations, girls also learn about practical resources like the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) for those who have been unable to attend regular schooling, opening educational doors alongside health ones.
Breaking the Silence Beyond Girls
One of the most significant aspects of Udaan is that it does not stop at girls.
More Than Health: A Shift in How Girls See Themselves
The camps are about health. But what they produce is something broader.
Girls who attend come away not just with information, but with a different relationship to themselves. Life skills workshops, conducted alongside health sessions, focus on self-awareness, confidence, communication, and decision-making the tools a young woman needs to navigate the world, not just her menstrual cycle.
In 2023–24, life skills workshops for girls covered themes of purpose, discipline, self-expression, and problem-solving. Participants reported feeling more confident, more willing to speak openly, and more capable of standing up for themselves. For girls growing up in communities where their voices are rarely the loudest in the room, that is no small thing.
The Simple Truth Behind Udaan
Menstruation is not a problem. It is not a weakness. It is not something to be managed in secret and endured in shame. It is a normal, healthy part of a girl's life and every girl deserves to know that, from someone who will say it clearly and kindly.
Udaan exists because Navsarjan believes that a girl who is informed is a girl who is empowered. That health and dignity are not separate things. And that when you give a girl the truth about her own body, you give her something she can carry for the rest of her life.