Here's The Project
I am working with a non-profit company called Fashion and Compassion that helps empower women all around the world. These women have experienced the atrocities of wars, poverty, sex-trafficking, drug addiction, or more. I am coming alongside this company to develop a part of their business that will focus on making and selling reusable, affordable, and reliable feminine hygiene kits to women in and around Kampala, Uganda. The women, who already work with Fashion and Compassion in Uganda, will have an added income to support their families while also providing for a huge need in their community.
Feminine hygiene is expensive, and many women cannot afford to spend their hard earned paycheck on anything other than basic survival. Girls drop out of school due to the lack of care available to them and women stay home from the work that provides their much-needed income. So, to prevent girls from missing out on their education and women from struggling financially, we developed reusable and affordable feminine hygiene kits that provide financially for the makers and empower the women who receive them. NOT ONLY will women in Kampala be able to purchase these kits, but schoolgirls around Uganda will also receive them for FREE. Yep, you heard me right: FREE. Thanks to one of Fashion and Compassion's partners, myTavia, a schoolgirl in Uganda will be able to receive a free kit every time one of Tavia's boxes is ordered. Basically, YOU order a box full of your customized feminine hygiene needs, and a girl in Uganda will receive a reusable, culturally appropriate, free kit that will keep her in school for an ENTIRE YEAR. Pretty cool right?
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So, where do I fit in here? Well, I'm glad you asked. My job in this life-changing project is to create the most cost effective and reliable design for the pads, research the fabrics needed, provide shipping options for fabric from China to Uganda, and create an educational packet to go inside each kit that explains the proper cleaning for the pads and a general understanding of a menstrual cycle. My goal is to keep these girls and women in school and work while also educating them on a subject that is often taboo in their culture. It has not been easy, but God really has great plans for this project. All women deserve the ability to feel confident, dignified, empowered, and comfortable wherever they go. A normal bodily function should not hinder any woman. These girls and women deserve dignity, especially during those days.
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I know this is long, but I could not end this explanation without mentioning a very important aspect of this project: my Girl Scout Gold Award. I simply want to thank the Girl Scouts for setting me on the journey that led me to this worldwide issue. This project is my Girl Scout Gold Award and, honestly, I would NEVER have discovered this issue if I had not been searching for a passion to base my Gold Award Project on. Before my starting my Gold Award, I had never heard about this problem, but now it has become a part of my life. So, thank you Girl Scouts for pushing me to really make an impact on the world. AND thank YOU reader for visiting my site and I truly hope you will get involved by clicking the link below : )