What aid organizations are you working with?
The main organizations we are currently working with are:
NESEI - New Sudan Education Initiative (Sudan)
The New Sudan Education Initiative (NESEI) is a partnership between Sudanese and a global network of supporters, who have come together to bring the gift of education to Sudan. They are working to ensure a lasting peace in this region by building 20 schools by 2015.
Lwala Community Alliance (Kenya)
LCA is an alliance of communities whose mission is to build the fundamental human capacity of the people of Lwala to advance their own comprehensive well being, including physical health, educational opportunity, economic freedom, cultural vitality and spiritual growth. In addition to building a medical clinic to support the people of Lwala, LCA also works in providing primary and secondary education to the children.
Kabondo Poverty Alleviation Organization (Kenya)
Kabondo supports its community by providing aid to help orphans living with extended family members and providing personal items and educational supplies.
Pearl Children Care Center (Uganda)
PCCC is a Community Based Organization (CBO) that helps orphans by giving them an education and providing for their basic needs.
These groups have strong ties with their surrounding communities and have the ability to distribute the pads outside their area. There are other organizations I am working with, but have not set up a concrete method for distribution yet. For more information about the groups we are working with, visit the News page.
What about the water resources required to wash the pads?
In working with an aid organization to distribute the pads we will make sure that the target community has ample water for washing the pads to ensure adequate hygiene. There are many areas where the girls and women are already hand-washing the rags they currently use now.
Why are you focusing on reusable menstrual pads and not menstrual cups like the DivaCup or the Keeper?
Because of potential hygiene issues, using a reusable menstrual product that gets inserted into the body requires additional education and "processing" such as cleaning the cup with boiled water. Additionally, we are culturally sensitive to potential taboos with young girls using an insertable product.
We are looking into the distribution of menstrual cups to some community members (older women who are interested), but at this point, we are focusing on menstrual pads. If an interest in the cups develops we'll be available to help in raising the funds for them and distributing the cups.
What is the issue with using disposable menstrual products?
For communities who have decent solid waste disposal services (such as in North America) it's hard to understand how disposables could pose a problem. The issue lies in the fact that in many parts of the world, there are no landfills and the garbage is burned. So, any disposable item would need to be incinerated. Since most disposable products contain plastics, burning them exposes the community to breathing in the particulate matter released into the atmosphere by the incineration.
Another issue is the cultural beliefs in some areas that one can cast a spell with blood - so it would be unnerving to throw out a used pad in these communities for fear that someone might use the blood for spells. With reusable pads, the girls and women would be washing their own blood out of their own pads.
What about AIDS?
In areas where HIV is prevalent we would need to discuss with the local health agencies the risks to the community regarding reusable pads and the menstrual practices of the women there. Since the women themselves would most likely be washing their own materials (much like they already do with their own rags), we don't perceive this exacerbating the problem, but we are sensitive to this.
How do you track where the pads will be going?
We will work closely with the aid organization(s) who will be distributing the pads to make sure they go to an area of need, where water resources are more plentiful (or where women and girls are already hand washing rags for their periods), and they get distributed to the people in need.
How can I help this project besides donating?
You can help promote the project by writing about it on your blog and/or adding our button graphic on your blog or website (see the contact page for instructions). You can tell your friends and family about the project - any general discussion makes people more aware of the issues even if they themselves are not interested in participating in this project.
How can I learn more about the issues these women and girls face?
There are a few articles you can read online that will help.
From the New York Times:
A Not-So-Simple Plan to Keep African Girls in School
Another School Barrier for African Girls: No Toilet
From a few websites:
Helping African Girls
In Africa, Menstruation Can Be a Curse
Crunchy Chicken's blog posts about the project (where this project originated)
Bleeding in Africa, from the GladRags website
Donating Menstrual Products to Women in Need, an organization in Australia
FAQs
