01/05: School for girls four weeks of the month
It's one thing to open a school for girls and young women in Sudan. It's another thing to help them attend that school. Attitudes about educating girls are changing rapidly, and many older girls in Sudan, and Wunlang, are going to school for the first time.
But once a month, they may stay home.
Our newly-formed Health and Sanitation Advisory Committee has been thinking about this problem. And so we have a pattern and a sample of a reusable cloth sanitary pad that's easy to make -- it was made by committee member Liz Ging -- and has been field tested!
Our sample is made of recycled toweling (it's a barbecue towel, hence the pattern). We hear that terry toweling and flannel both work well.
Technically, the pad is made to go under the wrapper, and the wrapper wraps around the underwear. Liz used a velcro fastener, but a snap or a button would also work. Having a separate pad makes it easy to swap or to double up pads. (Ours does not have the plastic inner layer some patterns call for. Our field tester says no plastic means more comfort, especially in the heat, and isn't needed, even overnight.)
The pattern is really simple.
When board members Tara and Lisa next go to Sudan, they'll be carrying this and other samples with them. They'll be sitting with the women and girls to discuss how these can be used to help girls stay in school. As always, the community will decide the best way to implement this idea. It might be through an exisiting tailor -- or it might be a vocational enterprise project.
Providing education and opportunity to remote parts of Southern Sudan has led us down some interesting paths. We want our girls and young women to get all the education they deserve.
But once a month, they may stay home.
Our newly-formed Health and Sanitation Advisory Committee has been thinking about this problem. And so we have a pattern and a sample of a reusable cloth sanitary pad that's easy to make -- it was made by committee member Liz Ging -- and has been field tested!
Our sample is made of recycled toweling (it's a barbecue towel, hence the pattern). We hear that terry toweling and flannel both work well.
Technically, the pad is made to go under the wrapper, and the wrapper wraps around the underwear. Liz used a velcro fastener, but a snap or a button would also work. Having a separate pad makes it easy to swap or to double up pads. (Ours does not have the plastic inner layer some patterns call for. Our field tester says no plastic means more comfort, especially in the heat, and isn't needed, even overnight.)
The pattern is really simple.
When board members Tara and Lisa next go to Sudan, they'll be carrying this and other samples with them. They'll be sitting with the women and girls to discuss how these can be used to help girls stay in school. As always, the community will decide the best way to implement this idea. It might be through an exisiting tailor -- or it might be a vocational enterprise project.
Providing education and opportunity to remote parts of Southern Sudan has led us down some interesting paths. We want our girls and young women to get all the education they deserve.
