“Rutusraba – Laaja Kimba Bhaya ra Sabda nuhne” (Periods are not a matter of shyness or panic it is about potential). With this motto Odisha-based journalist cum social worker Ankita Sahoo started her initiative in 2010. Not only does she makes awareness but also she distributes sanitary napkins to the needy. Also, she distributed napkins to flood-affected women in Odisha.

After the devastating flood in the Mahanadi system, the focus has now shifted to the Subarnarekha River as a massive flood. Acres of farming land dissolve under flood water. Lots of water everywhere but drinking water is scarce all over. Many social activists came to help them there’s a unique visual that arises a lady journalist who came to cover the flood story distributing sanitary napkins distributed to flood-affected women in different villages. She’s the one who distributes napkin pads every month from her own pocket, and not only this she arranges several workshops regarding menstrual hygiene.

In 2014 – 15, the cumulative impact of Ankita Sahoo’s various social impact programs reached thousands of women, girls, men and boys, and focused on menstrual health management. Every month, she arranges a workshop on menstrual hygiene and distributes sanitary napkins to the needy.

Journalist cum social worker Ankita says, “Actually I want to make people understand that periods are not something they should be ashamed of. It is a natural process. We should not be afraid of it, rather it should be treated as a superpower as because of the monthly cycle, women in later stages will be able to conceive the baby.”