I remember in school the acute embarrasment of getting my period - the horror of gym class, the whispered stories of so-and-so who stained right through her skirt, being petrified that somehow, people on the bus would know...
It seems silly, looking back, but those emotions were very real. Luckily I had all the necessary equipment provided by modern technology, a whole aisle of sanitary pads of every conceivable width and thickness, tampons packaged in euphamistic flowers or tiger stripes, (and not a hint of red on any of them). And still it was a fraught time of the month.
How much worse, must it be then, for girls in the third world, who have no access to any of these things. When I think of hinderances to education, I think of socio-economic status or distance to schools. I never thought that girls would stay out of school because of something as simple and inevitable as menstruation.
Of course, it completely makes sense. Without sanitary pads or tampons, and very little sex education, many girls experience a shame I can only imagine, especially since most schools are co-ed.
The Kasisi Project, is a grass roots organization in Uganda, who are bringing awareness to this issue. They areabout to become the first local manufacturers of sanitary pads in Uganda. The pads will be maid out of papyrus plants.
Have a look at this totally cool video.
To support the Kasisi Project and their very worthy cause, visit: kasiisiproject.blogspot.com/
"
No comments:
Post a Comment