Mary Ward International works alongside Sisters, local partners, and communities to support education, skills, and opportunity for women and children around the world.
Together, we are working towards a just and equal world where women share leadership, children thrive, and communities shape their own futures.
Mary Ward International is the Australian and international development organisation of the Loreto Sisters.
Grounded in the Mary Ward values of freedom, justice, sincerity, verity, and felicity, we support locally led initiatives that create access to education, strengthen livelihoods, and help communities experiencing poverty and injustice build lasting change.
We believe education is justice in action. When women and children have the opportunity to learn, lead, and participate fully, whole communities are strengthened.
For many girls in Kolkata, getting their period can mean missing school. Stigma, misinformation and the cost of pads can make it difficult to manage menstruation with confidence and dignity.
Run by the Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre, the Landing Pad initiative provides locally produced pads and menstrual health education. Pad ATMs in three communities make free pads easier to access, while community sessions help women, girls, boys and men talk openly about periods.
In 2025, the initiative produced 50,540 sanitary pads and provided free menstrual products to 4,143 women and girls.
Your donation will help provide pads to women and girls across Kolkata. Donate today to keep girls learning.
The latest edition shares stories of hope, dignity and community-led change across the Mary Ward International network.
Read about early learning in Timor-Leste, menstrual health in Kolkata, young women finding their voices in Peru, and advocacy in Kenya. Plus, see how the Mary Ward network came together to help provide children in South Sudan with access to vaccinations.
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