2280

Two-thousand, two-hundred, and eighty days. That's how long, on average, a woman spends menstruating in her lifetime. Check out this new Huffington Post article featuring Days for Girls as a solution to the obstacles that women & girls around the world face due to menstruation.  It has some very interesting numbers you might want to share as you tell people about Days for Girls.  And please do talk about Days for Girls!  So many great connections have been made from our supporters mentioning us and what we do.  People don't know this is a problem, and don't know DFG exists.

MAY has been an amazing month for our Eugene Days for Girls team.  Some of the highlights:

210 pairs of underwear purchased with money raised by four Hawaiian 6th grade girls

Hundreds of kit components were sewn at home and added to our inventory, 

plus several dozen more washcloths, undies and Ziploc freezer bags were donated.

Two sergers donated--one used and one brand-spanking new!

20 big spools of Sulky thead donated.

New volunteers joining our team.  What a great group of caring and talented women!  

Donation of a generous box of fabrics that are perfect patterns and colors for bags and shields. 

The Crowdrise fundraiser has earned us $1715 and there are 4 days left to go!  All donations via Crowdrise this month earn matching funds for the work headquarters does.

Thank you to every one of you!  You each help in a way that is right for you, and it all adds up to empowering girls!  

Do you shop at Amazon?  You can have a percentage of each purchase price go to Days for Girls.  Just go to smile.amazon.com, sign up, then access Amazon that way instead of via amazon.com.

Today is International Menstrual Hygiene Day.  Note the symbolism of the date:  5-28.  Here are some interesting things you might like to read.

I'm looking forward to gathering for our next workday on June 14th.  As usual, we'll be at Our Sewing Room from 10 to 5.

Newport to Kenya

The Rotary Club of Newport, Oregon has several projects going on in Kenya.  They involved their high school Rotary Interact students in one that will provide 75 feminine hygiene kits.  The students used the DFG website for instructions to make 25 kits, and we will be providing the remaining fifty.

On May 17, they came to our workday at Our Sewing Room to use the snap press for the shields they had made, and before leaving, presented us with a very generous check to purchase kit supplies.  We put that check in the Crowdrise fundraiser, where it was matched 1:1!

Thank you, Newport Rotary, for helping to provide dignity, health and opportunity to girls in Kenya!

Matching funds for donations!

Two more amazing things were just announced, which benefit Days for Girls and in turn girls around the world.

Here is the announcement from Days for Girls founder Celeste Mergens:

Mother's Day is May 10th, and this year, we are pulling out all the stops.

Cause to celebrate #1:  Days for Girls has recently received a generous donation from doTERRA Essential Oils!  DfG is thrilled about this new partnership because of all the support it will bring for your incredible efforts, AND because of Cause to Celebrate #2. . . .

Cause to celebrate #2:  Days for Girls has been selected as an organization under The Next Ten, an initiative hosted by the Huffington Post to celebrate incredible causes that will shape the world in the next decade.  You are a part of this global movement for dignity.  You are the reason that, ten years from now, every woman and girl on the planet will have the health and dignity she deserves.

There are so many reasons to celebrate all your success, which is why Days for Girls is offering you the chance to magnify your impact even further in the world today.

Between now and Mother's Day, your contribution to Days for Girls through The Next Ten will be matched 2:1, thanks to doTERRA.  From Mother's Day through the end of May, your contribution will be matched 1:1, up to $100,000.

You can celebrate mothers and daughters across the globe by making your contribution today.

With Gratitude,
 
     Days for Girls International


If you've been considering making a monetary donation to Days for Girls, this would be a fantastic time to do it.  Maybe donate to honor your mother or your daughter?  Donate before Mother's Day (only 3 days, so hurry!) and our Eugene team receives that money, while headquarters receives twice that amount.  Donate from Mother's Day to the end of May, and we get that amount and headquarters receives a 1:1 matching donation.

When you go to Crowdrise, just scroll to our Eugene team link--a photo of some of our colorful drawstring bags and shields, with the words "Eugene, Oregon" under it.  

Click on that, and THEN "Donate to this fundraiser" (green box) to have your contribution benefit our team.  When you donate, you'll immediately get a receipt for tax purposes. 

I'm often asked what headquarters does with funds it receives.  Here's an answer I've pulled from a notice Celeste sent out to teams and chapters:

All funds will go to spreading the story of DFG.
These funds will provide us with the necessary resources needed to support our current and ever growing numbers of team and chapters, and train even more Ambassadors for Women’s health, building global enterprises to create local supply and leadership so they can provide the extremely important health training to the girls. And create resources to help chapters and teams.
This vital funding will also be used to educate governments, humanitarian organizations and corporate sponsors about the desperate need of girls and women everywhere and the immediate increase in health, hope and dignity DFG hygiene kits provide. All helping to reach more girls, women and communities more effectively so we can reach them all by 2022.

Empowerment

In cooperation with their longstanding partner, Crowdrise, The Huffington Post is celebrating its 10 year anniversary by focusing on the promise of the next 10 years ahead. They're highlighting causes that are near and dear to their ethos -- causes where they believe meaningful strides can be made in the coming decade -- and empowering readers to act and take part.  Read more . . . .

Days for Girls has been chosen as one of those causes.  DFG Founder, Celeste Mergens, wrote this article for yesterday's Huffington Post blog.

By Celeste Mergens
Celeste is the Founder and Executive Director of Days for Girls International. Since 2008, Days for Girls has restored education, health, and dignity to over 100,000 women and girls in 83 nations. Days for Girls is a two-time Girl Effect Champion, is a Top-Rated Nonprofit on Great Nonprofits, and was featured this year at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The world is a complex place. Today it's hard enough to find the time to answer all our emails, let alone think about how to save the world. Fortunately, tackling the bigger questions doesn't have to be difficult.

Since 2008, Days for Girls has worked to break the cycle of poverty by starting with the basics: we make washable hygiene kits. If hygiene kits don't initially seem like The Big Idea, don't worry, they didn't at first to us either. Days for Girls was born almost by accident, in an orphanage outside Nairobi, Kenya. In the wake of the 2008 post-election violence, we suddenly found ourselves with too many children and too few beds. I went to sleep one night like many parents of the world, thinking about how to help hungry children. To my surprise, the question that came to mind in the middle of that night wasn't about food, or water, or housing. It was, "What are the girls doing for feminine hygiene?"

When I ran to the computer to ask the Assistant Director of the orphanage, he responded immediately: "Nothing. They wait in their rooms." We quickly realized that girls were sitting on cardboard, often going without food and water for days every month. We knew something had to be done.

This was the beginning of Days for Girls. In the six years since then, Days for Girls has grown to a vibrant, passionate global network of over 370 volunteer Chapters and Teams. That network is working hard to break the cycles of poverty that keep millions of women and girls from achieving their dreams, through providing washable feminine hygiene kits. Here's how Days for Girls kits make a difference:

1.) Pads keep girls in school. According to UNESCO, 5 out of 10 girls in Kenya lack access to pads. When girls miss up to a week of school every month, not having access to pads can have a big impact on education. 

2.) Pads help women go to work. 56% of women in Sindh, Pakistan said that it was difficult to work in the fields during menstruation. When women make up between 36% and 60% of the agricultural work force, ensuring that women have the resources they need not only helps them, but also makes communities and nations stronger. 

3.) Pads bring girls out of isolation. Lack of access to pads leaves girls isolated. In Nepal, 28% of girls reported sleeping apart from their families during menstruation. In Gujarat, India, 91% of girls reported staying away from flowing water during menstruation. Eunice from Uganda summarized best how Days for Girls kits combat this. She explained, "If I was menstruating I [would] just hide. Now I will be free...because I don't have to worry about leaking. I can just stay with people." 

4.) Pads help women no longer feel ashamed. 90% of girls in rural Ghana reported feeling ashamed during their periods. Days for Girls reminds girls that menstruation is natural, and that we have this process to thank for the existence of every human being on earth! 

5.) Pads give girls the confidence to succeed. Noreen from Kenya said it best. "When we have those kits, we can do something great in this world. Without education we have nowhere to go, and we can achieve our goals now." Kits remind girls that they are beautiful, important, and worthy of health and dignity.

6.) Washable pads don't create additional waste. Disposable pads can create waste, especially in places without good sanitation facilities. Days for Girls kits are washable with little water, dry easily, and last for up to three years. This is good for girls, and for the earth. 

7.) Washable pads help women in remote areas. When it's difficult for women to get to a store to buy pads, having something that lasts longer helps them. Days for Girls kits help women save time and resources.

8.) Washable pads are cost-effective. Even if a month's supply of pads costs $1, women will need to spend $36 for three years. Days for Girls kits cost $10, providing a $26 savings. 

9.) Washable pads provide women and girls the solution they ask for. The Days for Girls kit went through 27 different iterations before we felt we'd created a product that truly matched what women and girls wanted. This is their design. Today, we are also teaching them to make kits themselves, and to create enterprises, and to serve as Ambassadors of Women's Health in their communities. 

Through honoring their wisdom, through listening, and through partnership, Days for Girls is confident that together, we can reach Every girl. Everywhere. Period. By 2022. There are a lot of things in this world that are difficult to change, but this isn't one of them. You too can lift up millions of girls and women who have been waiting to live their lives unbound. You too can join the movement today.

It just keeps getting better!

Every month brings something new--first-time volunteers, generous donations, surprise emails, new requests, and exciting distributions.    This is an amazing group!
Here's an overview of some of what keeps me smiling:

Zimbabwe

In the March 25th post, you can see the kits that we sent to Zimbabwe being assembled.  The kits arrived safely, and I have a note and photos to share from Patience, the teacher who distributed them.  Patience will be in Eugene later this year, and I hope we are able to meet her.

From Patience:

hello maggie and susan.  girls were very grateful to receive those kits.  they thanked you so much.  like I mentioned earlier we have 150 kits we will need more for all the girl orphans we have.  then we have 10 lady teachers who requested to be considered to have those kits. since teachers are paid very low, they say during their time of month they are also facing difficulties.  once again thank you.

love 

patience

Here are photos of the orphaned girls who received the kits:

Uganda

We also had a small part in a distribution in Uganda in February.  Melissa made all of the bags, liners and shields before asking us for help in affixing the snaps to the shields, which she did herself after I showed her how to use the press.  Mary Jo and I made 30 liners for postpartum kits, but Melissa did all the rest, in addition to taking and distributing the kits at Favour Primary School at Community Child Development Orphanage in Buyobo, Sironko District, Uganda.  This is a very tiny village near Mbale, Uganda.

Melissa shared dozens of great photos. They're on my computer, and I'd be happy to show you at one of our workdays (just ask!), but for today, here is a sampling.

Notice the curious boys peeking through the window.

Generosity

Since starting our Eugene Days for Girls team, I've been floored by the generosity of so many.  Every so often I'll open my email to a wonderful surprise.  A few months ago, it was an email from a local woman who had been fundraising for DFG through her online business, Boutique Academia.  She had decided to donate $5 from each sale of a particular pendant to Days for Girls.  Thank you, Maile, for that very helpful donation!  This contact also led to a DFG workday at her church.  

In the past year, there have been four gatherings of different faith groups whose  members spent a morning, afternoon or evening working on kit components.  Many of the women who came to press, cut and sew also brought with them abundant donations of underwear, washcloths and Ziploc freezer bags!

After the most recent of these sessions, my surprise email was from

Elyse, a participant who would been traveling soon to Ghana and offered to transport kits.  I contacted DFG Ghana, and put Elyse in touch with Bernice there, who was delighted with the offer.  Our team was able to assemble 34 kits for Elyse to take with her.

(At least the washcloths are in focus!)

Elyse filled her rolling luggage with our kits

Elyse's classmates traveling with her also had some available weight allowance, so she contacted another DFG team and they added many more kits.

My next surprise email came a few weeks ago, from Michelle in Hawaii.  She wrote:

I teach 6th grade here in Hawaii.  We have no chapter in our state.  Four students at my school did their own fundraiser (bake sale) outside of school to raise money for Days for Girls.  Can they order underwear for the kits online and have it mailed directly to you?

I remember bake sales (brownies come to mind) from when I was in middle and high school, but I suspect that these girls are better bakers than my classmates and I were, because last week the mailman left a big box on my porch.

120 pairs of size 12 panties!  I was thrilled to receive such a huge donation!

The next day, I got a note from the girls, with a slip showing that two packages had been sent.  And they enclosed a $5.00 bill, because they had some money left over from their bake sale!

More anticipation . . . one more day, and another package arrived.  This time it was ten 9-packs of size 10s.

That's 210 pairs of underwear!  Absolutely amazing!  They will be improving the lives of 105 very appreciative girls, helping them to stay in school. 

9-packs of size 10s on the left, 12-packs of size 12s on the right.  Plus $5.00!

One of the girls had moved before this photo was taken, but here are three of these four generous young volunteers in Hawaii.  

Thank you, girls, for your time, thoughtfulness and generosity!

Join us in May . . . and after

Our next workdays are May 17, June 14, July 19, and August 16.  We meet at Our Sewing Room at 5th and Main in Springfield, 10 am to 5 pm.  If you have a serger or sewing machine that you'd like to use, please bring that.  Pins, sharp scissors and a seam ripper are also useful.

PBS on Nepal needs

While we continue to work on our kit requests for the future, we'll also be keeping the Nepal earthquake victims in mind, and helping as we can.  This PBS article lists washable feminine hygiene products as one of the top 5 needs for Nepal right now.  Can you spot a DFG kit in one of the photos?