Michelle Gates-- Days for Girls
As well as being the Victorian coordinator, Michelle Gates runs the Ferntree Gully chapter of the Days for Girls organization. She spoke about the history of the organization. A woman called Celeste from the USA was visiting an orphanage in Kenya. She wondered what the girls did for sanitary hygiene. She found that they had to sit on cardboard on their bunks until their period was over. Celeste responded to the problem by raising funds for disposable sanitary pads. However, this made the problem worse. The girls could not dispose of them and tried to reuse them. There was an apparent need for sustainable reusable sanitary pads. Days for Girls was formed with the mission of “sustainable menstrual health management”.
Where sanitary products are not available, girls use leave, mattress stuffing and corn husks, which can lead to infection.
Michelle explained the broader social implications of girls not having adequate sanitary products. They are unable to attend school, go to work or even leave the house. This affects their schooling. If they leave school early, they are at risk of child marriage and dying early in childbirth. The pads allow them to stay at school. If the girls can attend school, it helps break the poverty cycle. They then are more likely to have healthy babies, a better income and to be able to make informed choices in life. Education of girls can have a greater impact on a community than education of boys.
Days for Girls does not provide disposable products because these cost more, are hard to access in remote areas and are difficult to dispose of. Problems of disposal lead to health risks, because girls will try to reuse products, and it adds to the stigma of menstruation because of their visibility.
Days for Girls members sew cloth products that can last up to 3 years. Michelle showed the various parts of the kit that is made. The reusable flannelette liners are designed to look like hankies so they can be washed and hung on a line without embarrassment. Draw string bags are provided to carry the kit in.
Individual chapters of Days for Girls distribute kits to specific communities. They partner with other organizations, including Rotary. There are 230 chapters worldwide. The kits are made by members and members also teach others how to do it. It costs $11-16 per kit. Days for Girls also provides health education. Girls need to know that periods are normal, have a function and are not something to be ashamed of. People in poor countries are also taught how to produce the kits.
To give boys a role, they are provided with simple handwashing stations outside latrines.