Distributing pads to girls in Ghana
Hey team, Linda writing from Ghana. Hoping you will read, comment, and watch the TedTalk link here
Many of you attended one of the “pad parties” that Community Wings organized on both coasts.
I was able to bring only part of the pads made by the many volunteers who cut, sewed and pinned pads. In Ghana, I have 60 completed pads and another 40 that still need some sewing. I plan to engage the youth of Hope Ghana church to complete the sewing by hand. I look forward to hearing directly from those in our Ghana Scholarship Program and in the Hope Ghana Church as the pads get distributed (with some education) and used by the girls and women.
For those of you who are unaware of our Pad Project, here are some important facts from the DaysForGirls.org website
The Problem
Millions of women and girls lose 5 days every month because they don’t have what they need to manage their menstruation. This adds up to millions of days of lost school, work, and opportunity. We can change that, together.
Around the world, girls and women without pads use rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and cow dung to manage their menstruation. Noreen from Kenya wrote, “When we have those kits, we can do something great in this world.”
After distribution of Days for Girls kits, school absence rates dropped
36% to 8% In Kenya
25% to 3% In Uganda
This is an inspiring Ted Talk from the founder of Days for Girls on how this movement got started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa_NyPa2qY4
· If you have to choose between feeding your children or providing sanitary supplies, which would you choose? The answer is clear. Where do you dispose of soiled pads when there is no trash service? Littered pads add to the stigma girls can face. What if there is no access to pads? A quality solution that she can count on month after month that is comfortable and effective AND discrete gives her back days of possibility, safety, and dignity.
· What if not having feminine supplies kept you isolated during menstruation? No study for DAYS. No income for DAYS. No access to hygiene… for DAYS. It happens worldwide to women in impoverished communities. They miss up to 8 months of school in 3 years to this issue. Girls use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks, the list goes on… all to try to stay in school. These often lead to painful infection. Worse, girls are often exploited in exchange for hygiene to keep them in school. This also affects early marriage, as menstruating girls who are not in school are considered “eligible” regardless of age. It turns out this issue is one of the keys to social change. It’s hard to imagine, but true all over the world.
My hope and dream is that these pads and our continued scholarships will irrevocably change the future for children in Ghana. Linda Atwater
