How the simple gift of feminine hygiene products can change a girl's life.
Lack of access to feminine hygiene products forces many women and girls around the world to choose between dangerous, unsanitary solutions and missing school or work. When girls who have limited or no access to hygiene products begin to menstruate, they typically begin missing school almost monthly. This can initially cause their grades to fall, but often it leads to them dropping out entirely.
Last year, I had the privilege to accompany Vessels of Mercy as they distributed sustainable feminine hygiene kits to school-aged girls throughout Liberia. Each kit contains washable, cloth hygiene products – rated to last up to three years – along with underwear, cleaning supplies, and washcloths. Bev Gibson, the founder of Vessels, taught me how to run a training for young girls so they could learn about basic hygiene, female reproductive health, and how to use and maintain the sustainable kits. These kits literally prevent girls from missing school, and keep them on track to achieving their goals!
These kits literally prevent girls from missing school, and keep them on track to achieving their goals!
In many countries where “period poverty” is a reality, these hygiene kits contain the first pair of underwear a girl has ever owned, let alone feminine hygiene products. Since this need is very prevalent across the African continent, we at Lydia House would like to meet the needs of even more girls, while also working toward sustainability and independence for our residents.
Part of the vocational training program at Lydia House Liberia will include having our residents learn to sew these sustainable feminine hygiene kits. We will donate kits to residents and local girls, and then we will sell the rest of the kits to NGOs and charities working for the good of women and girls throughout Africa. The revenue from the kits we sell will contribute to the sustainability of the home. We believe this is a win-win model for success all around.
A donation of even one kit could make all the difference to a girl and her dreams.
When you give to Lydia House, your donation not only helps young women work toward financial independence, it can also help girls gain access to a hygiene kit that could keep them in school. Each kit costs around $15 in materials to compile, which comes out to $5 a year to keep a girl from dropping out of school!
Invest in a girl’s future today by donating toward the materials for these hygiene kits. Whether you are able to give $15 or $1500, a donation of even one kit could make all the difference to a girl and her dreams.
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