REFUGEE PROJECT

JULY 6

I hope you can join us at our Saturday workday at Our Sewing Room.  If you're a sewing or serging ace, please bring your machine, scissors, and a spare bobbin or two.   We're there from 10 until 4:30--join us for as long as works for your schedule.

PERIOD POVERTY

I think I've posted before about this young woman from Portland, now a Harvard student, and Period, the organization she started.

JUDY WOODRUFF ON THE PBS NEWS HOUR

Last month, Judy Woodruff had a featured piece on period poverty.  I am so impressed with the increased awareness and willingness to discuss this issue publicly.  Here's the link.

OUR REFUGEE PROJECT

Days for Girls has more information below on the project to get kits in the hands of refugees girls and women this fall.  The first shipment will be to Lebanon.  We've pledged 500 kits, and have 291 of those already packed in their Ziplocs.  We still have a lot of sewing, serging and all the support tasks ahead of us to reach our goal.

The final locations for the refugee project are...South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Somalia! While we originally intended to reach three locations in total, we have had such a great response from Chapters and Teams as well as local and international partners that we have decided to reach 4 locations!  We will be partnering with a very large trusted NGO to reach these final three locations. This organization in internationally well-respected and has extensive experience working in refugee settings globally. They shared that the need for DfG Kits and Menstrual Health education in these locations is extensive and exceeds our 33,000 target, so if we go over, the extra will be sure to reach refugee women and girls in these countries! We will be revealing this partnership next month once formal partnership contracts are finalized! In the meantime, here is an overview of the situation in these countries and why our DfG Kits are especially needed in these areas. South Sudan According to the UNHCR, "Since December 2013, brutal conflict has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly 4 million people from their homes". By the end of 2018, there were more than 300,000 refugees in South Sudan and more than 1.8 million internally displaced people who were forced to flee their homes. Today, the clashes, insecurity, and outbreaks of violence continue. Read more HERE and HERE. Afghanistan As a result of conflicts and a deteriorating and volatile security situation lasting 4 decades, Afghan refugees are the second largest refugee population in the world. While many Afghan refugees remain outside the country, "Afghanistan faces one of the world's most acute internal displacement crises". Currently, there are 72,000 refugees and 2.6 million internally displaced people in Afghanistan who have fled their homes. Read more HERE and HERE Somalia The UNHCR reports that Somalia has gone through two-and-a-half decades of armed conflict. This has been exacerbated by drought, food insecurity, and other natural hazards. There are over 33,100 refugees in Somalia. It also has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world with an estimated 2.65 million people forced to flee their homes. Read more HERE and HERE.