We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Nordon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

So I started my nonprofit Chhaupadi Inc. back in 2020. I had worked in the nonprofit field for 6 years before this. I had worked four years at a shelter for abused children and then two years at a domestic violence safe house. Even though these jobs were very rewarding I knew that I wanted to help those in need in my own way.

Chhaupadi is the Nepali tradition of shunning women when they are on their period. As they are considered to be dirty, unclean, and impure during the time of their period. They have to live deprecate from the family home, not touch anyone, drink from the same water source, eat the same food, or even go to school. I first heard of this tradition when I went solo traveling in Nepal. When I came back to Texas that’s when I got the idea to provide free period products to the DFW population.

After researching, I found out that period products are classified as luxury and nonessential items. Which is why there is a special tax placed on them. This is why most schools do not consider period products in to their budget. And 1 in 5 young girls miss out on school during their period as they do not have access to period products.

I had never gone through the process of starting a nonprofit before. So I went into it completely blind and unsure on where to start. I just knew that my goal was to help others.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As of now we have given out close to 90,000 period products (pads and tampons) to the DFW community. We are now partnered with 21 schools. All where we give them free period products. We are so proud of all the hard work that we have achieved to be able to help that many people. We also educate about period hygiene, period poverty, and the Chhaupadi tradition.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I feel when managing a team as a leader you have to always be there for your team. Be a sounding board for them and an example.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think one needs to have an open heart and mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Chhaupadi.org
• Instagram: Chhaupadi
• Facebook: Chhaupadi
• Twitter: Chhaupadi
• Other: [email protected]