Fighting Menstrual Poverty in East Africa
12€ = materials for 3 reusable pads (2 day + 1 night) = soap = underwear = information booklet = 1 YEAR of shame – free life
Sewing Together – an educational program which aims to teach women a skill of fashion and design, sewing, marketing, photography and business, to give them a chance for independence in life. Beside providing free education Sewing Together actively fights menstrual poverty by making and distributing reusable sanitary pads. Research shows that girls face monthly challenges, with 65% of women and girls in Kenya unable to afford sanitary pads. In rural areas, many girls use unsanitary forms of protection such as sand, feathers and leaves causing infections and painful sores. Uganda’s Ministry of Education reported that, as of 2019, nearly one in every four Ugandan girls between ages 12 to 18 will drop out of school once they begin menstruating. According to the SHE28 campaign, 18 percent of girls and women in Rwanda missed out on school and work in 2018 because they could not afford to buy menstrual pads. According to a 2015 study by TAWASANET Menstruation Health Management, the majority of girl students – or about 62% – miss school in Tanzania due physical illness that results from menstruation. Lack of proper education makes some girls exchange dirty sanitary pads and some even to engage in sexual intercourse to buy basic hygiene products. Period poverty contributes to global and regional gender inequity. That’s why we’re asking for your help today!
We can’t do it without your help !
On the 23rd of March we are organizing the Victoria Rally. Our goal is to drive across East Africa, to empower women with a skill of sewing and construction of reusable sanitary pads and create a long-lasting change, by securing access to affordable and ecological menstrual products. We will provide sex education classes tailored to the needs of the women and girls. To achieve this goal and make sure that all places are self sufficient we need to purchase sewing machines, materials and such basic things as underwear and soaps for intimate hygiene.
No women should feel menstrual shame .
Please donate even 1Euro and help us make a difference.
Time to join forces and fight menstrual poverty.