A Big Thank You

Last week our Mynas landed on Indian soil, laden with chocolates and regaled us with tales of their once in a lifetime opportunity. Deborah and Archana had never travelled by air and now not only have they crossed that off their bucket list, but they attended the Royal Wedding as well! Archana was most excited to see Priyanka Chopra and Oprah. Archana and Deborah had mini adventures at the airport too, with them running to make it on time and sampling aeroplane food- all captured forever on camera.

Archana all set for the experience of a lifetime.

Archana and Deborah, however, were unsure about whether they would even be going to England. Archana’s visa was only given to her 2-3 days prior, while Deborah’s was issued the day before the wedding! It was a nail-biting suspense, but fortunately, it all worked out in the end. They travelled to London and took in all the sights. Archana says that she has always wanted to see two landmarks- the Statue of Liberty and the London Eye. Well, now she can cross the latter off her checklist.

Archana, Suhani and Deborah sightseeing around London.

Our Chaat For Change Fundraiser was a massive success and we would like to thank all of you who donated and hope that you enjoyed the pav bhaji, bhel, sweets and Bollywood music as much as we did meeting you. It is said that good food tastes better when shared and we couldn’t agree more.

It is incredible how these events can have such a ripple effect. The Duchess of Sussex first met Suhani at a Glamour College Women of the Year luncheon in New York City. She then expressed her eagerness and passion about menstrual hygiene and her desire to visit Myna in Mumbai. In 2017, she spent a couple of days with us, discussing with community women about their challenges regarding menstrual hygiene. She did everything we did – from sitting on the floor to eating local food prepared by our women. We were too excited in the moment to know what was to come from this.

Acquired from https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2018/05/18/mumbais-myna-mahila-is-one-of-the-7-charities-invited-to-the-royal-wedding-by-meghan-and-harry_a_23437679/

Being nominated as one of the seven charities to receive donations in lieu of wedding gifts for the royal couple, was a huge turning point for us. We would like to express our immense gratitude to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for making all this possible. We can now widen our reach to even more slums and employ more women in the production and selling of sanitary pads. Deborah has said that it is her dream that every woman working at Myna, from having never left the slums, travel abroad and fly in a plane for the first time. But then again, we are already flying, thanks to Meghan, Raw Mango, our ticket sponsors and you, we are flying higher and higher.