Arunachalam Muruganantham, a name as unknown as it is unpronounceable for us Spaniards, has become an icon of initiative, innovation and selfless work, which has led thousands of poor Indian women to a more dignified and healthy life.
Born in a medium-sized city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, in 1961, his childhood was quite difficult, especially after the death of his father, in his early years. He attended school until the age of 14, after which he dropped out of school to help his family financially through work. There were several jobs to which Arunachalam submitted himself. Among them, machine operator, sales agent, agricultural worker and welder.
It was from the age of 37 that his life began to change. After getting married, he realized how unhealthy his wife Shanthi's hygiene habits were during her menstrual period. Because they were very poor, they did not have the money to buy industrialized absorbents sold in pharmacies and, because of this, the women of their village used the most inappropriate cloths for gynecological health, in order to stop the bleeding, which brought so many risks to their lives. the fertility of these women and for their own lives. Noticing this problem, Arunachalam began a persistent journey to create a low-cost sanitary pad that could put an end to this harmful use of dirty cloths.
During his quest, Arunachalam faced numerous challenges. His mate, as well as several other women close to him, soon stopped supporting him out of shame and his entire village came to ridicule him when they discovered that he tested his prototypes on himself, using animal blood. It was after many difficulties that he acquired the knowledge that enabled him to produce a tampon as effective as those sold in pharmacies by multinationals. He first discovered that the cushions inside the object were made not of cotton but of a specific cellulose fiber which he soon acquired from a supplier in Mumbai. As for the machinery used to produce the pads, which at the time cost around $500, he built a machine that cost less than $XNUMX and was just as effective.
Arunachalam Muruganantham received, in 2009, the award from the National Innovation Foundation, an agency of the Indian government that encourages technological innovation, and funding that started Jayaashree Industries, an industry he created with the aim of commercializing his technology to the villages of all over India. There were several offers from multinational companies to buy his technology, but all were turned down. Arunachalam continues to take its technology at an affordable price to all corners of the country and, in addition to distributing health, it also distributes work and income to women in the villages that its technology reaches.
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More than an example of initiative, entrepreneurship and innovation, Arunachalam Muruganantham is, without a doubt, an example of humanity.
