Madelein contacted us as part of our free cup program and has given out the menstrual cups we gave her in the most beautiful way! Please read about her amazing cup journey with her group of girls!
During our ‘Facilitating your Flow’ delivery we explored the use of products through time- from moss, wool and muka to the modern menstrual cup & ‘period proof’ underwear. The teen mamas we’re working with reviewed modern product options in relation to the Health of Papatūānuku, the Health of their own Bodies, Cost and Convenience (of course the Menstrual Cup hit the spot every time). In our final activity (“Your Choice” If cost wasn’t a consideration for you, which product would you choose to try?) 100% of the mama’s chose the Menstrual Cup! So you can imagine we were super stoked to be able to say, “Well, thanks to MyCup, we have one here for each of you!”. Before this session all the mamas had been using conventional pads and tampons during their flow. We feel really privileged to have seen 14 new cups into the hands of such beautiful women! Ngā mihi nui ki a koe Kimberli!!
We realize that the new understandings about conventional products can be overwhelming, so it felt really important to have an alternative on hand that the mama’s could take home that day at no cost (given these young women’s backgrounds cost is a very real consideration).
Feedback from the girls:
“Before walking into the session I didn’t realise how bad the products I was using were- not only for myself but for the Earth. It especially topped my day off to be given what I wanted to try (Menstrual Cup) which I would have never invested in because of the price.”
“It was cool to have a good look and feel of the different products used for facilitating flow. I’ll definitely give the Menstrual Cup a try now that the awesome ladies <at MyCUP> provided one for us!”
‘Poutama Rites of Passage’ supports young people in their transition to adulthood by revitalising indigenous models of community-led, rites of passage education & celebration.
Our project for young women is called ‘E Hine!’ (Air He-near – a call to, or exclamation of the Feminine). E Hine honours the embodied rite of passage women experience at menarche and is led by ‘older’ young women in our community. ‘E Hine’ is a bi-lingual curriculum that includes story telling, inter-generational sharing, and education on the wisdom and science of menstruation and sexuality. In a Māori world view this includes our relationship with Te Tinana – our physical body, Te Tuakiri – our spiritual body, and Te Taiao – our natural world.
Our vision for E Hine is to bring the magic back into ‘sex ed’ supporting young women to cultivate an embodied understanding of our mana & tapu – our sacred power as women, as well as our interconnectedness the environment.
‘Poutama Rites of Passage’ has recently flown the nest of their parenting organisation and are setting up their own legal structure to support the growing momentum of theirkaupapa (projects) including their boys’ coming of age journeys ‘Poutama Tāne’.