I was so sad to read this report in The Guardian recently. The teenager who had her first period during school lessons was reportedly branded ‘dirty’ by her teacher and told to leave the class. All because she did not have a sanitary pad! Unfortunately she is by no means alone.
At PottersHeart when teaching in Kenyan Villages we meet so many young girls, and women who simply cannot afford to buy sanitary products. Mostly the school girls just stay at home every month. There is a law in Kenya requiring the government to distribute free sanitary pads, regretfully this is as yet not happening in many areas. So many girls continue to miss at least 20% of school attendance.
PottersHeart are concentrating on helping school girls and their Mums to make their own washable set of sanitary pads. Not only are they free or low cost, but they are also so much more environmentally friendly. We recently had a stand at David’s Tent, and took the pattern, and several completed packs to show people. Many folk were really interested, and some were especially pleased about the environmental aspect, choosing to use washable pads themselves. We believe the villages and schools who currently can’t afford to buy these products would be better being taught the eco way. The same goes for babies nappies……… The world
is already drowning in tons of waste.
You can help us in this campaign by going to www.pottersheart.org and pressing the donate button. It’s a win win, help us to help the girls and help our planet.