In impoverished communities worldwide women and girls are missing school or work due to their periods. Disposable pads are expensive and inaccessible to those who are struggling to provide food for their families. Some women and girls resort to using leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks ... anything they can find. Using these items puts them at risk for infection. Worse, girls are often exploited by men in exchange for money to buy sanitary supplies. And when there is nothing to use, they remain home, sitting on a rag for the duration of their period.
Dignity4Girls promotes access to quality washable feminine pads by direct distribution of U.S. sewn Days for Girls kits* and through the Kenyan and Liberian sewing teams. Washable pads allow girls and women to attend school and work when they are menstruating. If well cared for, these pads can provide several years of protection. Access to washable pads has proven to reduce school absenteeism, drop out rates and even early pregnancies!
Over the years Dignity4Girls has sent the Days for GIrls kits containing washable pads to Kenya and Liberia. Both partnering ministries witnessed the difference the washable pads made for their school girls and were inspired to begin sewing pads.
The Kenyan sewing team began in 2016 and has created over 3,000 washable pads. The Liberia women were recently trained and are just beginning. Each sewing team is inspired to bring hope to the many vulnerable girls currently in need of a solution for their menstrual needs.
Just $10 can help a girl keep her educational dreams alive!
CLICK HERE to support the growing sewing teams.
D4G continues to make new connections and is providing U.S. sewn Days for Girls kits to an orphanage in South Sudan.
* The U.S. sewn washable pad pattern D4G helps distribute is developed by Days for Girls International (daysforgirls.org). These life-changing "Days for Girls kits" include: 8 washable liners, 2 reusable sanitary shields, 2 pair underwear, 1 drawstring bag, 1 washcloth, and 1 bar soap
Scroll down to learn about and see photos from our ministry partners in Kenya and Liberia
Click below to find a Days for Girls sewing group in your area or contact Dignity4Girls for more information.
After recieving over 2,000 U.S. sewn kits, which helped introduce the washable pad concept to the region, Kisii, Kenya no longer receives U.S. kits. The skilled ladies of Kisii, led by seamstress Glaldys, have their own established sewing team and have sewn over 3000 washable pads for their community.
These trained seamstresses distribute to schools and churches while presenting special health education. The team has reached over 20 schools 35 churches, and three special girls schools for the deaf.
Over 10,000 U.S. sewn kits have been shipped to Liberia, to the 15 schools operated by the Liberian Children's Ministry, under the direction of Joe Boway. Joe was born in the jungles of Liberia and as a child came to Christ through a missionary family. Due to civil wars, Joe and many others ended up in refugee camps.
For 14 years civil war prevented most schools from operating; as a result, today more than half of the adults in Liberia are illiterate. Joe, who now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his wife and sons, created the Liberian Children's Ministry as a way to educate children in the jungle regions. Joe now oversees 15 schools and over 6,500 students!
A team from Elmhurst, Illinois, traveled to Liberia in 2019 to introduce and help distribute Days for Girls kits to school girls and provide health education. Those who received the kits shared how it allowed them to attend school with confidence. The schools have continued to receive shipments of DfG kits each year.
In March of 2024 a team consisting of several skilled sewists from Elmhurst, Illinois, traveled to Liberia to train a group of 22 Liberian women to sew washable pads. These women will provide pads for present and future girls at four of the Liberian Children's Ministries schools. Dignity4Girls is excited to see the Liberian women take on this endeavor and provide for their own school girls.
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