EARTH DAY 2019

IT'S EARTH DAY!

Happy Earth Day! Our Days for Girls kits are designed with both the user and the earth in mind.   On average, a woman opting for disposables will use 12,000 to 16,000 pads or tampons in her lifetime.  Contrast that with our kits, which use pieces that layer so that less water is needed to wash them and last 3-4 years.  Our completely washable shields and liners don't create trash!  

WEAR     WASH     REUSE

APRIL WORKDAY

Wow!  We had 30-some volunteers working on kit components April 6th.  We used all available space in Our Sewing Room plus more in our storage room at the back of the building.  You really had me scrambling to keep everybody busy!  If the average stay was 4 hours, that's 120 hours of volunteer time I had to prep/have tasks for!  Wonderful--more kits means more girls' lives will be changed!

MAY WORKDAY

You're invited to join us May 4th for our workday at Our Sewing Room.  If you're bringing your machine, please remember your power cord, foot pedal and scissors, and . . . (labeled) basic sewing supplies are helpful, although we have some that can be borrowed.  We'll be there from 10 am until around 4 pm.  I'll send out a reminder email a few days before--it really helps if you RSVP to that if you plan to come (regrets not necessary).

EAST AFRICAN ENTERPRISES

158 participants from 79 Days for Girls Enterprises from 5 countries gathered in Uganda to connect, improve and grow to reach even more women and girls with quality washable pads!  

Days for Girls' long-term goal is to put our teams and chapters out of business by creating DFG Enterprises with well-trained locals to make and sell the kits. In addition to being taught to make quality components, they also learn how to run a successful business. Some kits will be sold to nonprofits coming to the countries to help in various ways, including providing free kits to keep girls in school. For others, kit components will be purchased piece by piece from local DFG enterprises (as funds are available) by local women. A woman may start with one shield and couple of liners, adding a second shield or more liners every so often when she has extra money. Enterprises also offer their services to handle distributions and the educational piece that goes with them.

This video is from that gathering in Uganda.

Teams and chapters help enterprises in many ways--financial donations, bringing supplies and components, hiring them to provide kits and/or education for distributions. You know how I'm always looking for folks who can tote a suitcase for us on their travels? Thanks to Glenda and her niece, we were able to get 100 pounds of supplies to a new Enterprise in Vilcabamba, Ecuador earlier this year, and Linda took a suitcase to the Enterprise in Nairobi last year, and we arranged for another for them leaving from St. Louis. Do let me know if you've got a trip planned, can check one or more suitcases free, and I'll see if we can find a contact where you're going.

Christine, at the Nairobi Enterprise we've sent supplies to, has a successful program getting kits into the hands of women living/working on the streets. I've read that the girls who become moms at a very early age usually have no future other than prostitution. I think of these young women as the girls we missed, girls who often had no options for managing their periods other than to trade sex for pads. It breaks your heart, doesn't it?

SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT DFG

Many times a year, I'm asked to speak to a local (or somewhat local) group. Most recently, I've presented to PEO chapters, church groups plus a study group in the Brownsville Library. Most of the folks are just as shocked as I was when they learn how so many girls and women in the poorer areas of the world don't have the means to manage their periods. And how that situation often means they leave school when they reach menarche. A couple of years ago, after I spoke to a group of teenage girls in Eugene, one of them announced that she'd never complain about her period again.

If you belong to a group that you think would be interested in hearing about Days for Girls, please let me know!

I also do information tables at various events. On Thursday, May 9th I'll have an information table at the Lions' Women's Symposium at Sacred Heart Hospital, Riverbend Annex, 4-7 pm. It sounds like they'll have some interesting speakers, including Bob Welch, as well as beverages, appetizers, and a no-host bar. Do attend if you're able. You can register and pay ($10 in advance, $15 at the door) on their website.

And in September, I'll have a space at the Pioneer Quilters' show, which will be held at the Cottage Grove Armory this year. The more people who know about the need, the more lives we can change! I know many of our volunteers first heard about Days for Girls when we met at a quilt show or other event.