“When we mobilize girls and women, their communities and our world grow stronger.
We are changing the status quo through quality menstrual care solutions, health education, and income-generating opportunities that give back days of opportunity and health.”
Our sustainable sanitary pack project provides reusable, washable sanitary packs to enable girls to continue their education when they have their period, instead of missing many days off school. This will empower them through education to transform their lives.
Through Judy Howlett who is a Trustee of the charity Baraka Community Partnerships and a contact of our PAC Lead Chris Corless, we heard about the importance of these sanitary packs to the girls in the schools they support in the Republic of Zambia in southern-central Africa. Without sanitary supplies, the girls have to use leaves, cardboard, newspaper or whatever they can find and stay at home, thus missing several days at school each month. In addition, unless someone brings them food during this time, they may go without.
It is critical to ensure that girls continue their education for as long as possible without interruption, as this will transform their lives and those of their families. These kits enable girls to do just that.
Our Club Sewing Bee group meets monthly and as well as sewing dresses and shorts and knitting soft toys, jumpers and blankets; we made an initial batch of 165 feminine hygiene kits using the Days for Girls pattern.
We are also conscious of environmental sustainability and have largely repurposed and recycled materials to make the packs.
The initial batch was very gratefully received by girls in Maamba, a southern city near Lake Kariba about 250km south of the capital Lusaka.
Since then we have sent many more packs. Each pack is designed to give 180 days of use which means that our initial batch of 165 packs has enabled 165 girls to attend an amazing total of 29,700 extra days in school.
We continue to make packs and send them to Zambia and also to Nepal. Each pack is designed to last around 3 years before a replacement is needed, so the need is for both first-time user and replacement packs going forward. So far we have made 215 kits and enabled girls in Zambia and Nepal to attend school for around 38,700 extra days.
Judy Howlett, Trustee of the charity Baraka Community Partnerships, who delivered the packs to Zambia said:
“Fantastic, you are amazing! I can imagine you all have great fun at your sewing days, but it is still wonderful that you make all these packs for us.
Thank you again – you are amazing women!”