Our school programme, by Pinkishe Foundation

Now it has to reach every school. One district at a time.

A three-year district model that makes menstrual health support reliable in every government school.

Built on the Supreme Court’s 2026 directions · Aspirational districts first · Measured at the start, middle and end

Partner with us in a district See where it has worked

What is still missing?

Not intent. Reliability.

The commitment is there. What breaks is the last mile, month after month.

Sessions happen once

And nobody follows up.

Pads arrive sometimes

And nobody tracks refills.

Toilets and disposal fail

So girls stay away.

Teachers want to help

But have no routine.

Breakdowns are noticed late

Because nobody watches.

Women walking past school toilet blocks in Chhattisgarh — Toilets, disposal and pads have to work together, every month. Chhattisgarh.

What we found ourselves. In five districts, machines installed earlier by others were broken, locked away or never used. Equipment alone does not work. A system does.

Pinkishe Foundation, Nari Samman baseline report, 2025. The full picture of the problem →

What is Shakti Shala?

Five pillars around every girl

So she has dignity, confidence and support she can rely on every month.

A pad vending machine and a pink pad storage cupboard in a government school in Telangana

Pillar 1

Reliable access

A vending machine, a pad cupboard and safe disposal in every school: the menstrual hygiene part of WASH in schools.

Girls raising their hands during a menstrual health class in Sakti, Chhattisgarh

Pillar 2

Knowledge and confidence

Regular, age-appropriate sessions that bust myths, not one-off talks.

Schoolgirls and teachers gathered around their school's pad vending unit in Telangana

Pillar 3

School ownership

Sakhi peer champions and a trained Saarthi, a teacher who volunteers to lead menstrual health, in every school.

Women of the community holding sanitary pad packs in Chhattisgarh

Pillar 4

Family and community

Parents, boys and frontline workers, reached through workshops and plays.

Pinkishe team checking a wall-mounted pad vending machine with teachers in Chhattisgarh

Pillar 5

Continuity and accountability

Every machine on a live dashboard, with alerts and field follow-up.

Access → Awareness → School ownership → Family and community → Reliable monthly support → Dignity

How it works in a district

Six stages over three years

The same package, monitoring and reporting in every district.

District readiness

Approvals, a district nodal officer, schools chosen together.

School setup

Machines, pad cupboards, disposal, a Saarthi and Sakhis.

Delivery begins

Girls’ sessions start, and school routines begin with them.

Monitoring and response

Every machine tracked live, with alerts and field follow-up.

Strengthening

Deeper engagement and stronger reviews with the district.

Sustain and hand over

Ownership moves steadily to the schools and the district.

Swipe to see all six →

Year 1 · Start

Put the backbone in place.

Year 2 · Strengthen

Make it deeper.

Year 3 · Sustain

Move to lasting local ownership.

A partner may begin with one year. The full model runs for three.

What changes?

For girls, schools, communities and districts

A system that keeps working after the project team steps back.

For girls

Pads when they need them, less fear, fewer school days lost.

For schools

Teachers ready to help, with clear routines every month.

For communities

Informed parents, and much less silence around periods.

For districts

A working system the district can see, review and own.

The government view

A District Collector on what changed in his schools

In his own words, recorded in Adilabad in May 2026.

“The attendance level of the girls has increased. In many schools we have clearly seen the results.”

Shri Rajarshi Shah, IAS, District Collector, Adilabad, Telangana

Shri Rajarshi Shah, IAS, District Collector, Adilabad, in an interview

“The attendance level of the girls has increased. In many schools we have clearly seen the results.”Rajarshi Shah, IASDistrict Collector, Adilabad, Telangana▶

How do we know it works?

Measured at the start, the middle and the end

We track every machine live, and report what did not work as well as what did.

Every programme is shaped to its place and its partner. The discipline behind it stays the same: written processes, trained people, and a live tracker updated within 48 hours. See how we deliver →

✓Baseline, midline and endline. A Menstrual Health Index across eight areas, with baseline reports published.
✓Live tracking. Every machine reports use and stock to a dashboard, and partners get their own view.
✓Third-party monitoring. Nari Samman was monitored by Grant Thornton Bharat and Sattva Consulting, appointed by Indus Towers; Dholpur by BharatCares. Independent evaluation of outcomes is planned.
✓Honest reporting. Project pages include what we learnt and what was hard.

How does it last after the funding ends?

It becomes the district’s own, from the first day

✓A partner from the start: the district approves, selects schools and names a nodal officer.
✓Skills stay behind: Saarthis and Sakhis remain in every school.
✓Public systems can carry it: the Court’s directions put supply duties on states.
✓We know how to work with government: district administrations and departments, across several states.

Budget allocation will also come… But until then, we seek the support of good NGOs, such as Pinkishe Foundation, with CSR support.

Shri Rajarshi Shah, IAS

District Collector, Adilabad, May 2026

Watch the full interview →

For CSR teams

How it fits your policy

It fits Schedule VII, the Sustainable Development Goals and the aspirational districts priority.

Framework

Fit

Schedule VII, Companies Act 2013

Health care including preventive health care and sanitation · Education · Gender equality and empowering women

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3, health · SDG 4, education · SDG 5, gender equality · SDG 6, water and sanitation

National priorities

Aspirational districts and blocks · The Supreme Court’s 2026 directions · Government school programmes

What a partner receives

✓Baseline and endline reports
✓Your own view of the live dashboard
✓Project management support
✓A project page on our website, once you approve it
✓Registrations and audited accounts in one pack. Governance and transparency →

You choose the size: 25, 50 or 100 schools, or every school in a district. The same model at every size.

Every district is different. Tell us about yours and we will share a costed plan. For a sense of scale, see the indicative costs of the school model.

Where has it worked?

Built school by school

Schoolgirls and teachers with their school's pad vending unit, Nari Samman, Telangana

January 2025 to March 2026 · Completed

Nari Samman, with Indus Towers

Telangana: Adilabad (40 schools) and Komaram Bheem Asifabad (35)
Chhattisgarh: Sakti (45) and Narayanpur (20) · Uttarakhand: Udham Singh Nagar (70)
All five Shakti Shala pillars delivered, and more beyond the contract: 76,515 women reached in the community, 454 Sakhis enrolled, 600 frontline workers trained, and 12 local people employed against a target of 6
Monitored by Grant Thornton Bharat and Sattva Consulting, appointed by Indus Towers

Read the Nari Samman story →

Completed

Dholpur, Rajasthan, with HDFC Parivartan

35 government schools in Dholpur, an aspirational district
One vending machine in each school, installed between 27 March and 1 April 2026
A year of pad supply, and training for the Saarthis (nodal teachers)
Monitored by BharatCares

Read the Dholpur story →

See all projects →

Ways to work with us

Four ways to work with us

Who funds this work

Organisations that have funded our work

In-kind supporters

Who have given sanitary pads for our work.

Common questions

About Shakti Shala

What is Shakti Shala?

Pinkishe Foundation’s three-year model that makes menstrual health support reliable in every government school in a district.

What does “Shakti Shala” stand for?

Schools Supporting Menstrual Dignity.

How is it different from PadBank?

Shakti Shala is a structured, three-year district model. PadBank is a shorter programme of menstrual education and free pads, which companies and individuals can both support.

Which schools does it cover?

Government schools with classes 6 to 12, chosen together with the district administration.

Is it eligible for CSR funding?

It aligns with Schedule VII of the Companies Act, including preventive health care and sanitation, education, and gender equality. Your CSR committee and advisers confirm eligibility for your company.

Can a company name its own project?

Yes. Each partner names its project, and the project page shows which parts of the model it delivered.

How is success measured?

With a baseline, midline and endline using the same tools, plus live data from every machine.

What happens after the funding ends?

Teachers and Sakhis stay in every school, the district is involved from day one, and the model is designed so public systems can carry the supply.

How many schools do we need to support?

You choose: 25, 50 or 100 schools, or every government school in a district. The model is the same at every size.

Do you only work in aspirational districts?

They are our priority, because the need is greatest. We also work in any district a partner chooses.

Do boys take part?

Yes, in age-appropriate sessions, because their understanding makes school safer for girls.