UPDATES ON BEIRUT PROJECT
Huge thanks to Becky and her husband who drove complete kits from the Medford, Central Oregon and Eugene/Springfield Chapters to the collection center in Utah!
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| Kits from Central Oregon, Medford and Eugene/Springfield, delivered in Utah. |
Then I heard from one of the other collection centers that they were short on bags, so I mailed off a bunch to them, and then the third center reported being short on undies and Ziplocs, so we helped with those too. Nine big bags full of kits by highway, and three large flat rate boxes by mail. Thank you all for the ways you contributed to this!
What a great DFG-wide effort this was. So many kits were donated that Americares didn't have space to ship them all to Beirut. Consequently, our efforts will also benefit women and girls in Honduras and elsewhere:
Since August 8th 2020, DFG volunteers and supporters have...
Fundraised $26,414.48 USD
Ordered 2000 DfG Kits and 3500 masks from the DfG Lebanon Enterprises run by Syrian Refugees for the emergency response
Collected 27,755 DfG Kits from 186 Chapters and Teams:
• 12,565 Kits have been shipped to Lebanon for emergency and humanitarian response led by DfG Lebanon
• 5,880 Kits have been shipped to Honduras for COVID-19 response
• 9,310 Kits have been shipped to Americares. They are assessing the needs of their in country partners and will be selecting the locations most in need to receive these Kits.
Together, we are bringing comfort and dignity to women and girls during this challenging time.
Thank you for being adaptive, creative, and collaborative. It’s truly incredible what we can achieve when we all work together!
Please realize that what this means is that the generosity of DFG volunteers was way underestimated! It's wonderful that so more women than hoped for will receive kits. I'm very proud that we were able to be a part of this effort. Periods don't stop for pandemics, and I think we were all relieved that we could be a part of getting kits in the hands of women and girls in need, even with all the other challenges of 2020.
IN CHINA
Nice article about some girls working to end period poverty in one of the poorest parts of China.
IN VANATU
Volunteers are stepping up to change the world for women and girls – especially in the face of crisis.
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Today's example comes from the frontlines of Vanuatu: the Pacific Island Nation that was struck by category 5 Cyclone Harold in April. 
It was the second strongest cyclone to ever hit in the country.
It was the second strongest cyclone to ever hit in the country.-
Homes were destroyed. Families displaced. And menstruators – now burdened by a pandemic AND a natural disaster – struggled to meet basic needs.
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That’s when DfG Australia Chapters and Teams made magic happen! Despite dealing with their own lockdown, volunteers mobilized in a matter of days to reach women and girls on the island with 𝟑,𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐬 in partnership with
WHAT'S NEXT?
Well, our operations are certainly different than they were pre-pandemic. Some of us are still plugging away on components. My back-of-driveway porch has seen many socially distanced handoffs and returns of work to and from you wonderful volunteers who are able to continue to work on kit components at home.
Let me know if you have time and interest in doing some tasks at home. It's not nearly as fun as gathering at Our Sewing Room, but our goal is the same.
OCTOBER 11
It's that time again--The International Day of the Girl! Might I suggest you celebrate by doing something that will benefit a less-fortunate girl somewhere in the world? If you choose to do that through Days for Girls and want to make a contribution to our Eugene Chapter . . . you can make a contribution by check (email me for address), or online here. Receipts available either way! Donations of underwear are always welcome--Girls' sizes 10-16, Women's 5-7. (No bikini/thong/boy shorts styles) Let's make every day The International Day of the Girl!
