GAMES FOR CHANGE
BREAKTHROUGH, INDIA
GAMES FOR CHANGE
Creating games to shift attitudes amongst adolescent girls in rural UP
Client: Breakthrough, India
Scope of Work: Human Centred Design Research, Strategy, Game Design, Content and Activities
THE ASK
Kaboom partnered with Breakthrough in search of a solution to reach out to girls in rural Uttar Pradesh to increase knowledge and shift attitudes positively towards menstruation.
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Increase knowledge and shift attitudes
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How might we bring a shift in attitudes and behaviour towards menstruation hygiene in adolescent girls
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What can be done to achieve this in a session of 30 mins?
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How might we decrease absenteeism in school that is caused because of girls menstruating
THE SOLUTION
We found the intensity of fear and shame around menstruation was unusually high. Periods were referred to as:
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Dirty blood/impure blood
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It is a problem
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Referred as Gandha Khoon, Ghin
DISGUST HEALTHY
The research indicated that any game we designed must focus on shifting the attitudes of these girls from disgust to healthy while keeping in mind all the constraints.
We had to ensure that the game was fun and entertaining to engage the audience.
We created quick prototypes and conducted simulations to learn what works and what doesn’t - with multiple games.
THE DELIVERY
A Human-Centred Design report that mapped the knowledge, attitude and behaviours of girls around menstruation.
Key insights that would help find solutions to the existing challenges.
One game was designed and based on very popular street games called ‘pitthu’ and ‘dog and the bone’.
The game design - flags, question cards, answer cards, slogan cards and picture cards.
A Trainer’s manual to conduct the game, a demonstration session to train master trainers.
Final product was produced by the client.
USER RESEARCH
GAME CONCEPT ITERATIONS
Purpose of the Game:
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Building knowledge on menstrual hygiene
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Shift attitude of disgust to healthy
End shame and silence around menstruation by providing
a platform to talk about periods out loud.
