Our kits give girls in the poorest areas of the world the ability to attend school during their periods. Without a solution to handle menstruation, girls typically miss dozens of days of school each year, often causing them to drop out of school and be married very young. The repercussions are huge, affecting the health and economic security of future generations.
This is why your help--your hours, your monetary and in-kind donations, your telling others about Days for Girls--is so appreciated. We couldn't be changing lives without you!
GIVE YOUR INPUT
Here's one way you can help others learn about Days for Girls:
Your input is so vital...and we need your help! Days for Girls maintains its high ranking on Great Nonprofits in great part because people like you rank DfG highly and contribute stories. Would you be willing to take 2 minutes to add your contribution today? https://greatnonprofits.org/…/…/days-for-girls-international - so grateful for all you make possible.
ARTICLES
Some links to articles you might enjoy:
Here's another write up on Days for Girls and the impact we have worldwide.
In a Nutshell All that lost potential! Meghan Markle writes in Time magazine.
From the Seattle times, an article on a Days for Girls volunteer delivering 1500 kits to Cameroon.
Here's a link to some puberty education sources online. So far they're only available in a handful of languages.
VIDEOS
I've given you a link to Menstrupedia before--remember the comic book? Here's a lovely, artistic video you should see--and share: The Beauty of RED. I also suggest you go to YouTube, search for Menstrupedia, and see some of the many other videos this menstruation awareness/education group has created. While you're at YouTube, you might also want to search for Days for Girls. The DFG sewing specialist has a few videos posted, plus there are several others about the organization and what we do.
SHIELD MAKERS
If you are one of our amazing shield makers, please remember to check every shield for quality and size. We are still getting many that aren't as wide as we need. Remember to use a scant 1/4" seam (the "scant" is important), press as you go, and make your edge-stitching close to the edge--1/8" maximum--even a bit closer if you can. After the final edge-stitching, the inside width of the pocket should be 3.25". I have made several little 3.25" cards you can slip in the pocket to check. Please ask for one at our next gathering.
PUL
The middle layer of our shields is a moisture barrier fabric called Polyurethane Laminate, or more commonly, "PUL." Most of you know that we don't use pins on PUL, to avoid making a hole in the moisture barrier. Our shield makers are also careful to have the shiny side of the PUL face up, towards the body or pockets of the finished shield. The Days for Girls Sewing Specialist recently explained the reasons:
There are many manufacturers of PUL and some of them have told us that the PUL they manufacture is not waterproof on both sides.
The brand of PUL that is used by DfG is waterproof and breathable no matter how you use it, but that isn't the reason we are so careful the shiny side goes a certain direction. The reason that we want the shiny side toward the body is because of infection and disease control. All of us know how hard it is to get blood out of fabric. Think of a low water situation and less than ideal cleaning facilities. If the fabric side of the PUL is toward the body, that is an extra layer of fabric that needs to be cleaned and dried well. And, it isn't something that you can see as the shield fabric is covering it. That means that there is one more place where bacteria can be harbored. By putting the fabric side of the PUL on the underneath side, it is not going to get as soiled. In addition, if it isn't cleaned as effectively, it isn't going toward the urethra or vagina where infections are most likely to occur.
I understand that it is tricky to make sure that the shiny side of the PUL goes the way we need it to go. But, please remember that we are trying to make the best product we can, to not only solve the menstrual hygiene needs of women around the world, but to also help them stay healthy. The decisions about how the shield is made is the result of enormous amounts of thought, testing, and feedback from the women we serve.
This is why DFG asks us to put temporary basting stitches on the piece of cotton fabric that will end up being on the bottom side of the shield. It helps you as you make that final quality check of each shield you make.
I also want to emphasize how important color choices are in our fabric. Staining is inevitable, and some of our recipients will be in situations where they are less able to remove stains than others. The pocket side of the shield, which faces the body, will of course be more affected by stains. So we want to have that side, including the pockets, be of our darkest fabric. If you're making a shield and one of the shield shapes is of a lighter-colored fabric than the other, please be sure to put your basting stitches on that one, so it will end up on the (bottom) side away from the body. Sun-drying the kit completely is crucial for killing germs. Days for Girls realizes that girls and women are reluctant to hang out any item that passersby will connect to menstruation, so we want to help them avoid visible stains as much as possible.
STASH REDUCTION
Many of us who sew and quilt often buy fabric because of its attractiveness and possibilities, rather than with a specific project in mind (of course, sometimes there's actually that, too). Most of us buy generously, so we don't run out mid-project. Then when we do have a new quilt in mind, we can shop our stash.
Oftentimes, we have fabric that no longer appeals to us or is left over from a completed project, and we decide it's time to free up some shelf space.
Many of the local quilters know about Days for Girls and often think of us when it's stash-reduction time. This is how we get almost all of our beautiful cotton fabric for our bags and shields.
Last week, our chapter was one of the nonprofit beneficiaries of stash-weeding by a local quilter with exquisite taste in fabric. We ended up with four heavy bags of gorgeous cottons. I am so thrilled--thank you Nancy for yet another very generous donation!
Here are some of the lovely fabrics that will become Days for Girls shields:
And some that will become Days for Girls bags:
MARCH WORKDAY
Although our space was more condensed than usual, we accomplished a lot on March 4th, and enjoyed meeting the new volunteers who joined us.
Our next workday is this coming Saturday, April 1st. Hope to see you there! Come anytime after 10:30. We're packed up and gone by 4:30 or 5:00. Remember to bring your machine if you sew or serge, and basic sewing supplies--sharp scissors, extra bobbin, seam ripper, etc. If you don't sew or serge well, we have plenty of other necessary tasks to hand out. Thanks so much for helping!
Sign in when you arrive, sign up for email if you don't already get my group emails (and you'd like to), and meet some other great volunteers! Tell me what you'd like to do, and I'll put you to work! If you get bored with one job, you can always switch to another. Some folks enjoy doing the same job each month, and others like variety.
