A twelve-year-old girl once walked out of a classroom crying because she thought she was dying after getting her first period. There were no sanitary pads in the school and no one to explain menstruation to her. The incident stayed with Tarun Kumar and later became the foundation of Nischay Foundation, a grassroots organisation in Jharkhand working on menstrual health, gender equality, education, and community development across rural villages.
“We were ready to stand in front of a village and stop a child marriage,” he recalled. “We would call the police, counsel families, face the risk of being beaten. But in that moment, we could not even address a girl’s first period with confidence. And if that girl had been somewhere else, alone, what would she have done?”
₹100 a Month, a Bicycle, and a Question
Tarun Kumar, born in Jamshedpur with roots in Bihar’s Sasaram, grew up in a financially modest family where his father worked as a teacher. While studying, Tarun struggled with language barriers himself and also witnessed tribal students losing confidence because they could neither understand Hindi nor express themselves in classrooms.
After pursuing a BCA from IGNOU, he began teaching at a low-cost computer institute in Jamshedpur and started cycling to nearby villages. There, he saw how tribal children were being taught in unfamiliar languages and often scored high marks despite lacking basic reading skills, exposing deep gaps in the education system.”
This Project Is Over
Tarun spent years working on education, child rights, and child marriage interventions in tribal villages, often at personal risk. But over time, he realised many project-based organisations moved on once funding ended, leaving communities behind.
“That was not acceptable to me,” he said. “I wanted to work with children long enough for them to fight for their own communities.” By 2013–14, the idea of starting his own organisation had begun taking shape.
No Money, No Recognition, No Stopping
In 2015, Tarun Kumar began conducting menstrual health workshops in villages across Jharkhand. Within a few years, he and his friends formally started Nischay Foundation despite facing severe funding challenges and working with a small team.
By 2019, the organisation’s “Gift Sanitary Pad for Rural Girls” campaign had collected 5,163 sanitary pad packets, earning a place in the Limca Book of Records. Refusing cash donations, Tarun encouraged people to personally buy and donate pads to break menstrual stigma. By then, his work had already reached nearly 500–600 villages, earning him the title “Padman of Jharkhand.”
One Pad. One Tree. One Match. One Village
Nischay Foundation launched several community-driven campaigns to address menstrual health, education, and gender equality in rural Jharkhand. It set up pad banks in schools, toilet hygiene campaigns, and school incinerators to improve menstrual hygiene access and waste management.
Its “Ek Pad, Ek Ped” campaign connected menstrual awareness with environmental responsibility, leading to the plantation of nearly 25,000–30,000 trees. During Covid-19, boys distributed sanitary pads in villages through “Project Pad Human,” promoting shared responsibility around menstrual health.
The organisation also introduced mixed-gender cricket matches, village libraries, period libraries, and fellowships for underprivileged students. In 2025, Nischay launched “Period and Science,” encouraging tribal children to connect menstrual awareness with scientific learning and future careers in engineering, medicine, and research.
The Organisation May Not Survive, But the Work Will
Nischay Foundation’s vision is to build healthy, empowered, and gender-equal communities through education, awareness, and grassroots participation. Tarun Kumar believes meaningful social change takes generations, not short-term projects.
Despite funding challenges and limited institutional support, the organisation continues its work through strong volunteer networks and community trust. “The organisation might or might not survive,” Tarun said, “but the work will.”.
“Our volunteer network is real,” he said. “Our relationships with communities are real. The work will survive even if the organisation struggles. The organisation might or might not survive. But the work will.”
Don’t Follow the Crowd
When asked what message he had for young people, Tarun Kumar urged them to stay focused, think independently, and not get distracted by social media trends or public opinion. He believes honesty, education, and long-term commitment are essential for meaningful change.
He also said Nischay Foundation continues to need support through volunteering, awareness, and community participation. For Tarun, the story of the young girl frightened during her first period remains a reminder of why the work must continue.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe meaningful social change often begins with conversations people are afraid to have. Tarun Kumar’s work through Nischay Foundation shows how grassroots efforts, built on trust and long-term community engagement, can challenge stigma around menstruation, education, and gender equality in rural India. In a space where short-term interventions are common, his focus on sustained, community-led change highlights the importance of patience, participation, and dignity in social transformation.
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