So while I was doing some research for food storage (specifically what kinds of sanitary supplies to store) I came across a something that just blew me away. In Africa and other developing countries, girls only have rags or newspaper to use when they have their periods, or even worse they have nothing at all! This makes it difficult for them to go to school on the days that they are menstruating.
Some companies are providing disposable sanitary supplies for them which is good, but has a downside. There are no public waste disposal facilities and so the pads and tampons (containing plastic and chemicals) and covers end up being burned which releases toxins into the environment. This also makes it so the girls are having to rely on an outside source instead of being self-reliant once they had the washable pads.
I thought it would be neat to challenge each member of this blog to make 6 reusable cloth pads to donate to Goods 4 Girls (and if you are feeling ambitious, 3 zippered wet bags to carry wet or dry pads in). There are a variety of patterns to choose from and they don't look to hard to make. If you feel too intimidated by sewing to make them yourself, you can also donate money to the cause or buy cloth pads from an online store and they will mail them to Good 4 Girls for you.
I have had some real challenges with my period lately (I know nutellafiend and ms. jones hear me) and am so grateful that I can drive to the drugstore and buy myself sanitary supplies whenever I want. After reading about these girls without access/money to buy pads or tampons, I felt like a spoiled brat because I complain a lot about my period. I have sanitary supplies, soap, hot running water, wipes, Midol and Ben and Jerry's to help me get through my period. I can't imagine having to sit in a hut on a pile of newpaper for days while I wait for my period to end. I feel so fortunate that I live where I live in the pleasant circumstances that I live in!
I think we could do a lot of good with a little effort. You can use fabric you already have as long as it is clean. You might have to buy some waterproof fabric and snaps or velcro and zippers, but the cost should be minimal. If you don't have any fabric on hand, many fabric stores sell remnants for much cheaper. Some of the recommended fabrics are flannel, cotton-T-shirt and PUL.
Are you gals in? I think a good deadline would be the end of January after the holidays are over. Does that sound reasonable?
I think this would also be a wonderful humanitarian aid project to suggest to your church or other women's organizations you belong to. I am going to suggest it at my own church.
Complete information and instructions can be found at Goods 4 Girls.
4 comments:
I think that's a really good idea - I'm in. Periods are bad enough in the developed world!
Count me in too! My recent experience with monster periods has made me very sympathetic to these poor girls.
i love it!
Sorry I'm not in. I don't like sewing and I don't feel like giving money to charity. Probably cultural thing. My parents are immigrants from Vietnam in France and my awareness of helping others has been little increased by the education I received. But I am not totally insensitive to the problem, because I have used for quite a long time washable pads myself (plus the Mooncup) for environmental reasons. I guess feeling guilty for using disposable nappies for my kids, I felt like using washable pads for myself would make a difference...
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