#125 The Fight to End Period Poverty (And Why No One’s Talking About It)

What if your period could cost you your education?

When I sat down with Christine Denning, I wasn’t expecting to be so fired up about menstrual cups — but her story blew me away. Christine is the founder of an NGO tackling period poverty across Africa, and she's on a mission to replace shame and disposables with dignity and 10-year solutions.

We talk about how she went from growing up in a cold house in upstate New York to working with African leaders, fighting for girls’ access to education, and shaking up outdated laws. She also shares the one product that could change everything — and why hardly anyone’s talking about it!

IN THIS EPISODE
(00:00) Life Pauses for a Period
(01:41) Can We Fix Poverty Without Playing Saviour?
(04:33) The Teacher Who Taught Kids to Read. With Mud.
(08:16) Why Do Girls Vanish After Primary School?
(10:08) The 88-Year-Old Secret to Ending Period Poverty
(15:57) Who’s Keeping Menstrual Cups Out of the Conversation?
(17:07) Is There Money in Keeping Girls Dependent?
(22:46) How $10 Buys 10 Years of Dignity
(24:11) Periods Aren’t Just Physical
(27:31) “No One Told Me What Was Happening”
(31:14) From Shame to Strength: Let’s Rewrite the Story

Christine Garde Denning

Christine Garde Denning is the founder and CEO of CouldYou?, a nonprofit on a mission to end period poverty globally by 2040. With over 30 years of leadership experience across the U.S. and Africa, she created the CouldYou? Cup—an FDA-registered menstrual cup providing a sustainable 10-year solution for women and girls worldwide.

Under Christine’s leadership, CouldYou? has distributed nearly 200,000 cups across 15 countries, helping girls stay in school and reducing unsafe practices linked to lack of menstrual products. Her community-driven approach has earned international recognition, including a 2024 Earth Shot Prize nomination and formal endorsements from African governments.

Connect with Christine ►

Website: https://couldyou.org/

YANA FRY

Yana is a global speaker, impact coach, wellness retreats facilitator, spiritual educator, co-author of three books, award-winning poetess, and truth illuminator who inspires, empowers, educates globally. She is the founder and CEO of Awaken Human, where she helps leaders worldwide to realise their highest potential and maximise their impact. Yana has been studying and teaching consciousness and wellbeing since she was 8 years old and has clients and students from 30+ countries. With decades of training and education in a variety of Western Methods and Eastern Philosophies, Yana became a living vehicle that teaches humans how to unlock their highest potential in both material and metaphysical worlds. She has also been professionally interviewing thought leaders and change makers all over the world since 2015 and became a founder of two successful content platforms, Singapore’s leading independent talk-show YanaTV and a global podcast Timeless Teachings. 

CONNECT with YANA ►

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanafry  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yanafry

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/yanafry

Check out YanaTV - an independent and highly popular Singapore grown talk show that amplifies the voices of impactful and conscious people of Asia.

==► YanaTV : https://youtube.com/@yanatvsg

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Timeless Teachings by Yana Fry has been ranked among top 3 podcasts in Singapore in Spirituality. We talk about consciousness, human advancement, self-mastery and achieving full potential.