During the month of March, I had the opportunity to be part of an amazing day of service. I was surrounded by my two daughters, plus close friends and neighbors within my Harrisville Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Together we gathered at our local church building on a Saturday for one great cause: Days for Girls, an international girls’ health and education non-profit organization.
Days for Girls specifically helps to make feminine hygiene kits which are distributed into the hands of girls in schools within developing countries around the world. This special kit allows them to stay in school all month long, even during the time of their menstrual cycle, without getting behind on their education. Over one million Days for Girls kits were given worldwide as of last year.
On that Saturday in March, yards of colorful fabric were being ironed, cut, sewn, and stitched together with love. Sweet voices were chatting excitedly amongst one another as hands and hearts joined as one. Our purpose was intentional and mindful. As women, mothers, daughters, and friends, we were doing something for others that they couldn’t do for themselves.
According to their website—www.daysforgirls.org---we learn that, “Days for Girls began in 2008 when Founder and CEO Celeste Mergens was working with a family foundation in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, where she began assisting an orphanage. In the wake of historic post-election violence, the population at the orphanage swelled from 400 children to 1400.”
Celeste was troubled by the question that continued to flood her mind, “What are girls doing for feminine hygiene?” This led her to seek an answer from the assistant director of the orphanage to which she was told, “Nothing. They wait in their rooms.”
Furthermore, from their website, we know that, “Celeste learned that girls were sitting on cardboard for several days each month, often going without food unless someone would bring it to them. This set in motion her first intervention—disposable pads.”
However, there was no place for disposable pads and this solution could not be carried out. Therefore, plan B was implemented: a washable, long-lasting pad.
Within these Days for Girls kits each woman and girl would receive reusable pads, handmade with care along with a washcloth and a small bar of soap. The gallon size plastic bag would house all the contents she needed and even become the world’s smallest washing machine when it came time to rinse and soak her reusable pads.
From the Lisa Valentine Clark Show on BYU Radio, (Episode from March 8th, 2019) Anne Lewis, from Days for Girls, came and spoke about the importance for awareness of the Days for Girls Organization and the significant needs involved.
Lewis says, “We have so many wonderful things going on across the world that highlight women and help women to gain the joy they need.”
Lewis spent 4 years living in Africa and never once had a conversation about feminine hygiene. She said she never thought twice. Having lived in a country where this same problem existed and never did anything about it, then, she felt it was her turn to “give back” and be part of Days for Girls.
Additionally, Lewis says, “When we started Days for Girls in Utah it was only a small handful of women. We have women in Utah who love to give, who love to sew, to cut, iron and assemble. It’s taken off and there are tens of thousands of women involved in this now.”
“The women love it and there is a sisterhood. It is healing for women here.”
Educating the public is a big part of Days of Girls. Just hearing about this organization can change lives. One statistic shows that 95% of women in India don’t have access to feminine hygiene products.
Lewis emphasizes one strong point, “This little kit (Days for Girls Kit) solves many problems.”
If you would like to learn more about Days for Girls or how you can get involved, please go to www.daysforgirls.org.
