I love this time of the year! Honestly I try to be thankful all year long. But I love taking the month of November to really reflect on all the blessings in my life. In December it can be easy to get caught up in parties and shopping. Our family tries to focus on service in December. And I love trying to get some shopping done early so I have more time to relax and give service. But I don’t like to skip over this time of year when I can really reflect on how blessed we are. Halloween and Christmas are easily my favorite holidays. But there is something about Thanksgiving. The whole purpose is to be grateful and gather with family and friends. Yummy food is an added bonus. Truly it’s the most humbled holiday.
Last year I started a series of blog posts that I shared on Thursday where I was able to pick one thing I am thankful for and really think about it. I like when people on FB share what they are thankful for everyday. It’s great and uplifting. In these posts I try to think outside of the box. My first thoughts are filled with thankfulness for my Savior, my faith, my sweetheart, children, and my family and friends. But sometimes it’s nice to remember other important things too.
So to start my post I want to share how thankful I am for feminine hygiene products. Kind of random, I know. But in the last year I saw an interesting post called Days for Girls. I am not sure if the Mighty Girls FB page shared it or if they suggested this website to me because of another article I had read but I wanted to know more about it.
Imagine…
What if not having sanitary supplies meant DAYS without school, DAYS without income, DAYS without leaving the house? Girls use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks, anything they can find…but still miss up to 2 months of school every year. It turns out this issue is a surprising but instrumental key to social change for women all over the world. The poverty cycle can be broken when girls stay in school.
I started crying. Honestly I have never even thought about how other girls in other countries dealt with menstruation. I have thought about pioneer’s dealing with it as they crossed the plains. Along with the thought of, “I am so glad I live in today’s age.” But I haven’t even thought about not having access to tampons and pads. And it’s so much more than that. There is the sanitation side of it. In so many countries periods are so hushed up and not talked about. I read an article about a man named Muruganantham in India who saw what his wife had to go through every month. He shares what he learned about the conditions women were dealing with this.
He was shocked to learn that women don’t just use old rags, but other unhygienic substances such as sand, sawdust, leaves and even ash.
Women who do use cloths are often too embarrassed to dry them in the sun, which means they don’t get disinfected. Approximately 70% of all reproductive diseases in India are caused by poor menstrual hygiene – it can also affect maternal mortality.
He was moved by compassion and developed a machine to make pads for women even though he was treated poorly for his desire to help women. You can read about his struggles here from BBC. It was so humbling to see what some one would do and go through to help other people. And not just someone, but a man. He made huge sacrifices to make the world a better place. His story simply inspiring. I admire his diligence, his compassion, and his charity.
And then as I continued to learn more about Days for Girls I realized menstruation was effecting their ability to go to school or work a job. And when girls have to miss school every month, how are they going to become educated and help the world? Education is so critical to break the cycle of poverty. The Day for Girls organization was found in 2008. Executive Director Celeste Mergens shared her experience when traveling back to an orphanage in Kenya. (Read more here)
One night she awoke with a burning question: “Have you asked what the girls are doing for feminine hygiene?” When she asked the assistant director of the orphanage she was working with, the answer was shocking: “Nothing. They wait in their rooms.”
The conditions were cramped, unsanitary, and would leave girls without food and water for days unless someone brought it to them. Furthermore, sanitary products were available, but only if girls were willing to suffer sexual exploitation in exchange. This moment was the beginning of awareness to the vulnerability millions of women and girls face throughout the world every month, simply due to this basic biological function. These women and girls suffer in silence, due to cultural ideas and taboos surrounding this issue. Because of this, girls and women can feel that they are tainted, or fundamentally flawed or less in some way. Washable, quality hygiene kits and accompanying education changes all that.
Powerful words. And insane what I take for granted. It’s easy to complain about menstrual cramps or annoyances that come with a monthly cycle. And it makes me grateful that I can buy a large box of Tampax Tampons at Sam’s Club with no problem. I have so many options for menstruation: Pads, tampons, the Diva cup. It’s something to be thankful for.
But more than just that we can do something! I think talking about it is a great start. We can be open about our monthly cycles and not be at all ashamed. Maybe not in the going into too much detail around the dinner table way, but not being afraid to mention it kind of way. Honestly I never feel embarrassed to buy tampons or super thick pads. Why should I be embarrassed because I have a working uterus? I hope to instill in my daughter that there is nothing wrong with having your monthly cycle. I get that it can be annoying sometimes, but there isn’t anything embarrassing about it. When that marathon runner ran the London Marathon without a Tampon I admit, I probably wouldn’t do that. Honestly I’m pretty sure I am never going to run a marathon period. (Haha, sorry I couldn’t help myself) But I admire her desire to make it a talking point and spread awareness.
But what else can we do??? Days for Girls has a page where you can find a way to help girls all over the world. Get Involved here! You can donate with funds or make kits for girls. You can collect supplies or help distribute them as well.
We are so blessed to live where we have access to a sewer system and sanitary supplies. We can increase our love for others by helping those in need. Even if we just help out here or there it can really add up. I look forward to when I can talk to my daughter about this gift of being able to create and carry life. I want her to be confident and informed. And when she does start her period I want to be like my favorite TV mom Claire Huxtable and celebrate “Women’s Day” where we drop everything and spend time just me and her doing what she wants to do to celebrate that she got her period.
Just last night I was able to connect and meet up with a local chapter. I was invited to a sewing night where over 40 gathered to make different parts of the Days for Girls kits. It was a wonderful way to spend my time and I was able to visit with some really great ladies. I showed up and was surprised to find is was a Relief Society YSA night. The kits that we made will be able to help girls in Africa. Each kit is designed to help a girl for 2-3 years. I was excited to hear about the Mesa Days for Girls: Love Girls, Period page where I can find out about more sewing nights in my area. Be sure to check out the Days for Girls website to find a local chapter in your area. And if there isn’t one maybe you can start one. I look forward to teaching my daughter about this organization and working on kits together. I am so thankful for the modern conveniences that are available to me. We have so much to be grateful for!!! My daughter doesn’t have to miss out on education because she has a monthly cycle. I am so thankful to live where I do and enjoy the freedoms that I have. I am so thankful for others who have found solutions to some of these problems and are sharing ways I can help girls all over the world.
Because girls deserve better. Period.
All images are from Girls for Days website.
Some of these items are affiliated links. You are welcomed to buy from anywhere. But I don’t mind if you buy them from here. I only share items I really like or use. Thanks for your support!
Also I would like to add even though I love Claire Huxrable’s character I am only focusing on her and nothing else related to that show.
