How would you feel if five days every month was just swiped away from you? Would you be able to function the same way you do now? Unfortunately this is not a scenario that is only imaginable, this is the reality of many woman around the world today. For five days every month, women around the world have to stop living their lives because of menstruation. For these women, something many other women may take for granted like a pad or a tampon, is a rarity for them. Without the access to clean pads or tampons, these women are forced to stop their day-to-day lives and end up in terrible conditions.
In countries like Zimbabwe or Kenya, girls face sexually exploitation when it comes to gaining access to sanitary napkins. Without napkins, they run the risk of contracting infections when using unsanitary ways to keep themselves relatively clean during menstruation. In third world countries, it is true that girls have very little access to sanitary napkins, but many fail to notice that this is actually going on right under our noses. Right here in New York there are many girls and women who have no access to pads or tampons. These women may be homeless, in jail, or are just unable to financially cover the price of sanitary items for themselves. That is where Days for Girls comes in.
In order to properly combat the issue these women and girls go through, Days For Girls makes it possible for these girls to access to have pads and menstrual cups. Being aware that these females have no regular access to disposable pads or tampons, Days For Girls tackles the problem by giving these girls washable and reusable pads for them to wear when it hits that time of the month. These pads are created with polyurethane fabric that holds the flannel liners with a secure snap to keep the pad in place. The pads also don’t look like your store-bought sanitary napkin, so if these girls feel insecure about having their period, they are now more discreet. These pads are placed in a cute and discreet kit that contains the pads, a bar of soap, a pair of panties, a towel, a Ziploc bag for extra carrying, and a period tracker. With these kits, no longer do girls have to stay at home for natural processes.
Of course, WIB is always there to lend a helping hand to Days for Girls, and we packed kits like there was no tomorrow. Working in sync with everyone on a crazy assembly line, towels were handed down, soap was distributed, and draw strings were threaded through sanitary kits. It was a hectic but exhilarating experience. Those kits, I assure you, were packed with love from all the members of WIB present that day. We also had the chance to tell the world just what we would do if we had just five more days, five more days that these girls who are receiving the kits will be able to gain back.
Days for Girls is helping girls all around the world take back their five more days. What would you do if you had five more days?