To go along with “Africa week” for the Give Your Child the World book club:
“Without periods, there would be no people!” If that’s true, why does the world in general have a stigma about menstrual periods?
Did you know that in places where women don’t have access to feminine hygiene supplies, girls and women stay in their rooms and sit on cardboard until their period has passed? They don’t go to school. They don’t contribute to the family work. They don’t eat unless someone brings them food. This makes me so sad I start crying!
Some people are working to change this, as part of the Days for Girls International organization. Watch the story below of Celeste Merges, the founder of Days for Girls, and hear her story of why and how she started Days for Girls.
Some of my favorite line from Celeste’s TED Talk featured above:
- “I am no longer an orphan, I am a leader of women!” A 12 year old girl said this after she started teaching other women how to make resusable menstrual pads.
- If a girl stays in school at least one more year in primary school
she will help raise her nations GNP, and much more.
- An educated girl has profound impact on the development of her community!
- “What other questions have we not asked yet?” for how we can serve others?
- “Our goal is that by 2022, every girl, everywhere, has access to the resources that work for her to manage her periods.
In my Eternal Warriors classes, we talk about passion projects. Sewing kits for Days for Girls qualifies as a huge passion project! If you can sew, please consider doing this or pass the word on about it to others who can sew and have time on their hands. I wish I had a houseful of teenage girls to get involved in this! When I was in Utah I saw that my niece was doing this with her church young women’s group as part of their summer camp activities. Wow, I think this is the best “craft” project for Young Women’s camp ever!
Here is a page with all of the instruction videos on how to make the kits.
There are many chapters in Utah who get together to sew the pads. Here is the page for it. Sew on!