Reusable sanitary pads= education opportunities

For the month of May, we are inviting you to make the world sweeter with us, once again!

We thought that this month we would focus on making the world a little sweeter by doing something about the needs of the developing world.

In about 2 weeks, I (Marissa) will be going to Uganda to do some humanitarian work with an organization called HELP International. While there, I am planning on teaching people about health, and specifically, teaching women about menstruation and how to make their own reusable sanitary pads.

Living in a developed country, I don't think that we typically think about the idea of not having feminine hygiene supplies at our disposal. It is something that I know I have always taken for granted in the U.S. It wasn't until I learned about an organization called Grow. Learn. Give., that it struck me that not all women in the world have access to feminine hygiene supplies. Whether there are no nearby stores that would have the supplies, or because there just isn't the money to buy them, many women and girls in under-developed countries never have the opportunity to use proper feminine hygiene supplies. Sadly, what is used instead is things like old rags, and in some cases, even bark or mud.

Now, this may seem like a trivial issue. What's the big deal? Well, it is a much bigger deal than simply being clean. Often times, girls will stay home from school each month during their period, to avoid the embarrassment and discomfort associated with having a period without the proper supplies to care for it. The result can be very heart-breaking - dropping out of school, losing a job, etc.

The following is a video that talks about this problem. (We are not affiliated with this group in any way, but the first part of the video explains the problem very well.)



Ok, Rochelle speaking here: Every child- girls included- should have the opportunity to get an education. Society in general should have a deep interest in seeing girls obtain an education, because when girls and women are left ignorant, we see families as a whole that have poorer health and education. So, how can we address this problem?

One thing you can do to help is sew reusable cloth pads and donate them. There are non-profit organizations that provide education and sanitary supplies to girls so they can attend school and work.

There are so many free patterns for pads available on the internet, with different designs and pros/cons (Check out Jan Andrea's pattern, and Make Your Own Pads). Our favorite is the type with the base pad with removable top liner. There are many reasons for this. First, when laundering the pads, this type is less bulky so it washes and dries quickly. This is especially important when handwashing and hanging to dry. The second reason is that having a removable liner means that you don't have to deal with changing bulky pads every time- just the top piece. So, for most women, just one pad and three liners (or less) are necessary each day of their period. Third, unlike envelope-design pads with removable liners that go underneath the top layer, you can change the liner and be totally dry- no soiled layer still on top after changing the liner. Fourth- versatility! This design means you can mix and match based on you needs for the day- heavy or light protection.

So where can you find this type of pattern? You may want to start with this very simple pattern on the Grow. Learn.Give. website, or this one from Empower Women in Africa (scroll down).

Marissa and I sat down a couple days ago and made several pads from fabric we already had- old towels, scrap batting, a couple of t-shirts, and an old diaper changing pad for the waterproof layer. Marissa even sewed one by hand just to make sure it could be done, since she is not sure what kinds of resources will be available to the women she'll be teaching in Uganda.

Now, I admit that I heard about reusable pads a couple years ago and I couldn't get past the first "Ewwww", but after taking the time to learn about all the benefits and possibilities of cloth pads, I have to say that I am definitely going to give them a try. Here is a good article to read about how to actually go about making the switch, if you are interested. I am not going to focus this post on converting anyone to cloth pads, but I find it worth mentioning that reusable cloth pads save a lot of money compared to disposable products that you have to continually purchase. Also, reusable pads don't contribute to waste in landfills, and are a nice alternative when dealing with allergies, sensitivities, and yeast infections. Even if you love using disposables, these would be a great addition to your 72 hour kit (eek- ever thought what would happen if you ran out of pads during an emergency and there were none available anywhere?)

Ok- back to business. Would you like to get involved?! Make reusable cloth pads and send them to the Days for Girls International Feminine Hygiene Program (there are actually many programs like this, like Empower Women in Africa, but we really like this particular program as a whole, so for the sake of simplicity we are providing contact info for only one program. Feel free to research other programs if you wish.):

Days for Girls HQ
810 H Street Road
Lynden, WA 98264

Days for Girls will distribute the pad kits in Cambodia, India, Haiti, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. They have a goal to meet over 1000 requests for these reusable pads by the end of June. If you can take an hour or two and sew up a few pads (patterns are also provided on their site), you will be directly affecting the life of at least one girl- and the influence of one girl can be far reaching. Ahhh! Let's make the world sweeter by helping young girls stay in school!