Periods don’t pause for a pandemic. But during the COVID-19 lockdown, access to something as basic as a sanitary pad became nearly impossible for thousands of women across India. With over 3 million people in institutional quarantine and countless more confined to red zones, menstruating women found themselves isolated not just by circumstance, but by silence. Many suffered without access to menstrual hygiene products—something no one should have to endure.
That’s where Project Prema was born.
This video tells the story of a community-led movement, one that began with urgency but was powered by compassion. In the middle of a global health crisis, Nua, in collaboration with Y Water and the Global Shapers Community, took on an ambitious goal: to raise over ₹20 lakhs through crowdfunding and distribute Nua sanitary pads to women in Mumbai’s hardest-hit areas.
The numbers are powerful: over ₹22 lakhs raised in just four weeks. More than 30,000 women across Mumbai and Maharashtra reached. But behind each number is a story – a mother in quarantine, a sister in a red zone, a daughter without access to even the most essential care. Project Prema was about more than just providing pads. It was about restoring dignity and ensuring that menstrual health didn’t become a hidden casualty of the pandemic.
With on-ground support from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Maharashtra State Innovation Society, distribution was handled with speed and care, reaching those who needed it most—quietly, respectfully, and efficiently.
But perhaps the most moving part of the video comes toward the end, where it becomes clear who really made this possible: the Nua Woman community. It wasn’t just a corporate effort, it was a collective one. People gave, shared, supported, and rallied to make sure no woman was left behind during one of the most vulnerable moments in recent history.
The name “Prema” means love, and that’s exactly what this project represents. In a time defined by distance, Project Prema brought people closer. It showed that care can travel, even when we can’t. That compassion can be delivered in a box of pads. That solidarity can be felt by someone you’ve never met.
This wasn’t about charity. It was about equity. About recognizing that menstrual hygiene is a right, not a privilege. And that during a crisis, no woman should have to choose between her health and her dignity.
Project Prema is a reminder of what’s possible when empathy meets action. When a brand doesn’t just sell, but steps up. And when a community doesn’t just consume, but contributes.
Because when we take care of each other—especially when no one is watching—that’s when real change happens.
And sometimes, that change starts with something as simple, and as powerful, as a pad.
