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Friday, March 7, 2008

A Cause Worth Supporting

In my endless (not really) bloggy reading, I came across an organization yesterday that I am really excited about! Check out the Good 4 Girls' website. I'm sure many (or all) of you have seen the commercials from Tampax and P&G concerning the giving away of menstrual pads and tampons in Africa. Though my heart was warmed when I saw these commercials, this organization has made me rethink my views. Good4Girls is organizing sewing Americans to instead make material, reusable pads to send to third world countries. And here is why:

1. You don't want to get a society hooked on a product (such as these free materials) because when the freebies go away (and eventually they will) you have girls who again have no way to go back to school, without buying more products which they can't afford.

2. Most of these products contain some plastic. In many parts of Africa the way that they dispose of waste is burning. This releases lots of unnecessary toxins into the air.

3. Most importantly, it allows these women (and girls) to be self-sufficient. They have their stash of washable, reusable pads which allows them the freedom to continue functioning in regular life during their menstrual cycle.

Anyway, I have decided to make some of these with my work study girls when we aren't working on other things in the costume shop. That does mean that I will need to order some waterproof material (anyone know of the cheapest source for PUL?)... if you are at all interested in this project, I encourage you to take a look at the webiste and donate (either monetarily, with sewn products... or you can donate to me and I'll use whatever you donate to fund our work in the costume shop). Hooray for conservation and humanitarianism!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of the many reasons I am so proud to be your friend, your activism is model to us all.

FYI: "The winds" sounds very daunting.

Anonymous said...

hee hee... I can get you PUL. Give me a call.
(The hee hee is because your checkbook and your husband might not appreciate it when I do, because the PUL is just the beginning...)

Rebecca said...

I haven't heard about companies giving away products to women in Africa but you make several good points about the fall backs of that - esp what happens when the freebies run out. I think it's great you are making reusable pads for them. I'll have to share this with my grandma who sews and has made items for various organizations.