For the past two months, I have had the honor of communicating with RMF Pakistan’s Country Director, Dr. Rubina Mumtaz. We have texted, emailed, and Skyped so that she could share her knowledge and expertise regarding RMF’s Menstrual Hygiene Management Project, resulting in the previous two blogs. Over the course of our communications, I have developed such respect and admiration for Dr. Mumtaz. She is intelligent, passionate about her work, and dedicated to see women and girls empowered to their fullest potential.

Finally, we get to hear straight from Dr. Mumtaz as she has generously agreed to answer some...

Fear and Confusion

A Common Story

“Ah! Oh my god!” A terrified young girl runs out of the bathroom and down the stairs calling out, “Daddy!” when a friend of the family stops her and asks what’s wrong. “I’m hemorrhaging!” she replies out of breath and desperate. Fortunately, the friend of the family is a woman, a woman who calmly explains that the girl has experienced her first period. As the girl’s confusion and fear subsides, the doorbell rings. Upon answering, she finds her best friend, a boy, who innocently suggests that they go swimming. Angered by this, the girl...

It’s no secret that the modern United States is lacking in its sense of community. Gone are the days of block parties, neighbors visiting on the front porch, and families helping to raise one another’s children. We’ve replaced this with the isolated new mother getting a handle on things alone in her home with only Google to help her and with neighbors hiding out, curtains drawn, preferring virtual community to flesh and blood.

We live in isolation. And we venerate the independent. It’s almost a cliché at this point.

Or so I thought.

I’m going to be honest here. I...

At RMF we believe every life deserves the chance to realize its potential. When people are liberated from their fight for survival, they begin creating a better life for themselves and their community.

We believe in the human ability to transform. Our innate capacity to create transcends differences of ethnicity and economic standing. We are human because of our potential to change the world. When we are at our best, we are co-creators.

By empowering the people we are trying to help, we discover visionaries and partners who are best able to solve their own problems.

When we share this...

Suzan Phoni Loro is from Juba and is 32 years old. She is married, has two children, and came to JCONAM after working as a certified nurse right at Juba Teaching Hospital. She hopes to resume working at JTH or with a local NGO but says that despite being from Central Equatoria, she would be willing to relocate to anywhere in South Sudan for a good job.

Her biggest hope is that support will be provided for new graduates to attend continuing education where they can upgrade their skills once they are in the workforce. For example, she would like...