Nadya Okamoto is a freshman Harvard student who is nominated for L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Award for her organization Camions of Care.
A nonprofit, that provides menstrual hygiene through advocacy, education and service. They do a global distribution of feminine hygiene product care packages to women in need.
Okamoto grew up in New York, where she experimented homelessness herself. Her mother lost her job when she was in high school. Nadya’s family had to move around Portland for a few months. That’s when she realized the struggle homeless women live, when they are on their period due to the lack of access of feminine hygiene products. They are forced to use non-hygienic items that could turn out into prejudicial situations.
She realized this was a taboo topic and the consequences are bigger than they seem “I wrote down quotes from the women of how scared they were to ask for menstrual hygiene products, because they were embarrassed of their periods, but also how poor menstrual hygiene caused them so much discomfort…On a global level, I learned that periods are the number one reason why girls miss school in developing countries”.
There were no organizations that provided women with menstrual hygiene products. That’s why in 2014, Okamoto founded Camions of Care, addressing over 25,000 periods in 17 states and 9 countries.
The organization hopes that in the near future, they can also extend to third world countries in need.
Vote for her in L’Oreal Paris’s website and help her win. The award is $25.000 so she can invest it in her cause.