Re-usable Menstruation Pads
We are very fortunate to work with Mina (pictured left) who is our Nepali colleague based in Pokhara. She has been working with community nurses and teachers to promote and deliver education around menstruation health, and distribute free reusable menstruation pads to school girls. In a country where there are lots of taboos around this subject and the practice in some areas is to ban them from the home during the time they are menstruating, this can be a very sensitive subject.
Girls with no means in which to manage their periods, frequently miss out on education. Little or no education means in turn that they miss out on life choices and there is less likelihood that they will be able to break the cycle of poverty.
We currently buy the kits of reusable pads from ‘Days for Girls’, an international charitable organisation which has a workshop in Kathmandu. The kits contain: six daytime and two night pads, one pad holder, two pairs of pants, a plastic ziplock bag, a wash cloth and a bar of soap, all presented in a pretty drawstring bag. The fabrics used are a lot softer and kinder on the skin than the previous rough tweeds used in the original pads we were sponsoring.
In 2020 we sponsored the distribution of over 500 kits to schools in a remote area of Nepal. In 2021, thanks to a grant from the The Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity and our wonderful supporters, we managed to reach our target of providing another 500 kits to school girls. To date, we have now distributed 2715 kits. Currently Mina is working on a business plan to establish a sustainable way of providing reusable pads.
We are very grateful to the Peter Stebbing’s Memorial Charity for the donation towards the cost, and also to our wonderful supporters who have made this possible.
The kits are £10 each which covers all costs to deliver them to the girls along with sex and health education.
If you are able to support a young girl in rural Nepal by donating £10 via Just Giving, that would be absolutely wonderful. Please leave a message on the Justgiving page to say if you wish your donation to be earmarked for the pads appeal.
