Dispatch from SHE's MacGyver: Getting Dirty for the Cause

Since our MacGyver-in-Residence Tyson Huffman has arrived at our production facility in Ngoma, SHE has been on the fast-track to mass production of our Launchpads. 

Tyson is applying his expertise in process engineering and operations management to set up our production site, test and validate our quality control and assurance manufacturing processes, and train our local technical team. And guess what? Tyson's latest dispatch declares that "We are on a roll!"

In just 3 short weeks, Tyson has hired three technicians (2 of whom are women) from the local vocational school, has brought our machinery online, led the minor re-construction of our facility, the installation of our water tank and electricity, and has begin a test run of processing our fiber into fluff!  

Building a production site means that you need to be ready to roll up your sleeves. Thankfully, SHE's Tyson and Sylvere have no problem getting dirty for the cause!

Sylvere (left) and Tyson (right) testing one of our machines.

Tyson is making our production site ready for manufacturing action! Stay tuned for upcoming dispatches from him!

Are you SHE's new Digital Marketing Fellow?

We’re looking for a highly motivated individual who wants to spur social and economic change and work with an innovative, international award winning social venture, Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), and its first initiative, SHE28, a campaign that is addressing femalesʼ lack of access to affordable menstrual pads. SHE has been featured by Nick Kristof in The New York Times, NPR, and PBS Newshour. President Bill Clinton is even a fan of SHE and our LaunchPad - he got to see it firsthand at the Clinton Global Initiative!

Terms: A part-time fellowship with a minimum engagement of 4 months, with a possibility of extending the position into a long-term fellowship. Fellow will receive a stipend, commensurate with experience.
15-18 hours/week, and must be available to participate in office meetings in NYC at least twice a month. 

All applicants must be able to bring their own wifi enabled laptop. Photoshop experience is a plus but not required.

Do you want to spend time with us…

• Crafting and editing content for SHE’s blog, Facebook, and Twitter account that is provocative and thought-provoking and addresses public health taboos (namely, menstruation)?
• Populating all social media outlets with the content and measuring the effectiveness of our social media with Google Analytics and other tools?
• Using your powers of hyper-organization to provide technical assistance to special projects?
• Having a blast being a part of a kick-ass team and learning about the nuts and bolts of running a start-up social venture doing groundbreaking work?

Our ideal candidate has...

• Exceptional writing and communications skills.
• Strong understanding of digital marketing platforms and measurement tools (including Google Analytics) to provide reports on metrics
• Passion for digital marketing and an instinct for creating content across multiple social media platform
• The ability to gain a robust understanding of SHE’s core audience

A more detailed description of responsibilities:

Digital Marketing

• To effectively maintain, update and develop SHE’s social presence on a global level, across all existing Social Media channels
• Organize content into editorial calendar
• Ensure content is engaging and provocative, supporting SHE’s mission and thought leadership in social enterprise
• Working closely with the SHE Global team to build SHE’s thought leadership, engaging with and cultivating strong links with blogs and other media outlets

• Research as requested: media or PR leads, communications content

If you answered YES to the questions listed above, please send along your resume and cover letter, with answers to the following questions within your cover letter.

1) Why do you want to join SHE?

2) Why should we choose you?

3) What do you hope to learn?

4) In 140 characters or fewer (no longer than a Tweet), tell us what makes you unique!

Please also include links to blog posts and social media content that you have authored.

Send along all of this info in an email with “Digital Marketing Fellow” in the email heading to connie@SHEinnovates.com by October 31, 2013.

Meet SHE Global Health Interns

Please welcome our four SHE Global Health Interns.  We’re incredibly excited to have such a diverse team working from a variety of geographic locations—New York City; Brunswick, Maine; Chicago, Illinois; and the Canadian Arctic— to support SHE Rwanda’s Health Education and Advocacy efforts as well as SHE’s Global Health projects. 

Meet Sereena, Del, Natalie and Natalie! Their perspectives are unique and their passion for global health is evident. You will get to learn more about each of our interns in the near future! 

Sereena Singh is currently an MPH student at New York University concentrating in Community and International Health. For her undergrad, she attended Rutgers University graduating with Bachelor’s in Public Health. Initially, her interest in Public Health began at Rutgers and her passion for women’s health peaked ever further throughout her studies.

Sereena has been working at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine as a clinical research coordinator for about 2 years now. She recently worked at UNICEF India on international development issues for local villages in Bhopal. In her free time, she enjoys arts and crafts, especially DIY projects. She also has a guilty pleasure for reality shows, and will watch almost anything!

Delaram Farshad recently completed her MPH focusing on Maternal & Child, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Prior to joining the team, Delaram worked with UNICEF NY HQ- Nutrition & Health Unit and was involved in various community nutrition and rural health projects abroad in India, Swaziland and Bolivia. She is passionate about global health advocacy, women's health and community empowerment. Currently, Delaram is living in the Arctic region of Canada, working to promote health, community development and learning traditional Indigenous culture. Delaram's love for diversity and curiosity for travel, has afforded her opportunities to work in diverse rural and cross cultural settings, interacting with people from all walks of life. In her spare time, she loves to exercise her creativity, interact with people from different cultures and practice yoga.

Meet one of our ten pilot schools: Gs Gikaya

Gs Gikaya is one of the 10 schools that will be buying our pads during our industrial-scale pilot.  It's considered one of the model schools with girl-friendly sanitation facilities compared to many of the schools we have visited. This school is also renowned also for their warm welcoming.

A warm welcome from Gs Gikaya students!

When Nadia, Tash, and I arrived, we were welcomed by kids running towards you to receive you with a hug and sweet songs.

SHE will be providing Menstrual Health Management training at each of our ten pilot schools, but before we begin training, we needed to revisit the school campus so we can tailor our curriculum based on the school's sanitation facilities. 

Gs Giyaka is equipped with a girls' room that contains basic materials that a girl should use when she get her menses at school and is unprepared. Because this school is led by a woman, the issues of menstruation seem better well addressed than at other schools. The school teachers discuss the topic after class and instruct younger girls how to manage their menstruation, but challenges to fully support girls' menstrual needs still exist. 

SHE's Nadia with Gs Gikaya's headmistress in the school's girl's room

The headmistress reported that even though they have pads in stock to give to a girl who is unprepared when her period arrives, many of girls still don’t have means to purchase a pack of pads by themselves. Therefore, they sometimes try to game the system by having their friends ask for pads on their behalf so they can have enough products. Painkillers are also not available at school, so sometimes the headmistress allow girls to return home if they have too much pain. 

Supporting girls' menstrual needs at school will not be solved simply by providing access to more pads. That's why SHE is instigating at the national level to ensure that budgets and resources are increased at the school level, so girls will be provided increased access to education, menstrual products, and services.

I wonder whether schools led by women care more about menstruation issues or if it's just this school that makes an effort to support its girls and boys equally to help them stay in school. In any regard, we can't wait to learn more from the girls of Gs Gikaya!

- Gerardine, Marketing and Research Officer

SHE's MacGyver at work!

SHE's Macgyver-in-Residence Tyson Huffman is our lead technicians at our production site in Ngoma district. He is living out his title to the fullest when he RECLAIMED (sound familiar? It's one of SHE's vision words) beer bottle caps to serve as washers. Ingenuity at its best!