Ruby Cup
There is a flurry of nervous chatter as girls trickle into the stuffy classroom in groups of threes and fours. There is ample space, but they squeeze three to a desk bench, chatting quietly to one another and eyeing me skeptically sitting in the corner with my camera. The chatter grows louder with each new group of girls, and as we approach 2 o’clock there is a dull roar, as 58 wide-eyed young women sit facing Rabeca Banda. We’re at Kapanda Secondary School on a hot and sunny Monday afternoon, and these women are here today to participate in the new menstrual cup program sponsored by Ripple Africa.
Of all the women I have had the privilege to meet here, Rabeca is perhaps the most striking, and arguably the bravest. She stands confidently at the front of the room and as she begins to speak, the girls fall immediately silent with respect for her authority. Her deadpan face could win her thousands at a poker table, but when she breaks into a smile, it is as if sunlight shines into the room. With a perfect amalgam of humor, genuine compassion, intelligence, and no-holds-barred honesty, she dives right in.
As with most good ideas, the menstrual cup program, now six weeks old, began with a simple, honest conversation. In September 2023, at a newly formed youth group for women, Kaitlin and Nikki began to hear about the challenges these young women face when menstruating. Pads are expensive, scarce, not reusable, and some girls resort to ill-chosen behavior to find money to purchase them. Others, without adequate supplies, simply skip school for many days each month while on their period.
Armed with this knowledge, Ripple Africa began seeking a partnership that could help. Enter Ruby Cup: a UK based company that makes medical grade silicone menstrual cups. After a few months, funding was secured from an education trust, and Ripple Africa received 250 cups, 30% of which were donated by Ruby Cup. After a week of education and training with Lucy, a woman who has worked with distribution of menstrual cups in the southern part of Malawi, they are now working on distributing the cups across five schools in the local area.
I’m in awe of Rabecca as the training continues. It’s a sea of new faces to her, but she listens and speaks to each of them as if they are the only person in the room. She patiently guides them through each phase of the training, beginning with three questions: 1. How old were you when you got your first period? 2. Who did you tell? 3. How did you feel? The answers vary, but one thing is clear: it’s hard for the girls to talk about these things. They’re timid and embarrassed. There is nervous laughter and hands covering faces as they answer. But with Rabecca’s patience and compassion, soon the conversation is flowing more freely, and by the end of nearly two and a half hours, we’ve covered everything from basic female anatomy to detailed instructions about how to use the cups. They have a myriad of questions and concerns, but Rabecca addresses each one with the same earnestness, putting their minds at ease as the many benefits of the cups become clear. Slowly their skepticism turns to curiosity, and as the mood continues to shift and lighten, the girls are calling me to their desks to pose for photos with their new cups and they seem determined to give them a try.
It takes a beautiful kind of bravery to face change head-on; to tackle a taboo subject with candor in a place where resistance can often be fierce. It would be easy to shy away. But Rabecca is undeterred. She meets these young women eye to eye, at a human level, patiently empowering them each with knowledge, accountability, and a simple, reusable, long-lasting resource.
The program is in its infancy and time is essential for sustainable change to take root. There is admittedly resistance from the older generation of women. Open, honest conversations will have to continue and follow up will be key. But it’s an amazing start. With each girl who is brave enough to give her new cup a try, more will follow, and soon, we hope, they will be reaping the benefits.
