A group of local volunteers will travel to Peru next week to deliver menstrual pads they’ve sewn together to women in need.
On Saturday, more than 70 volunteers helped sew the reusable pads for the trip as a part of the 15th-annual Sew-a-Thon event planned by The Alachua County chapter of Days for Girls International. Chapter members will travel to Peru next week to distribute about 100 kits.
A member of the chapter, Dollean Perkins, 57, said the kits include two pairs of underwear, two underwear shields, eight liners, a washcloth, a bar of soap, an extra zip-close bag and an instruction card with a period tracking chart on the back.
“Each kit comes with a drawstring bag that allows girls and women to carry the supplies to school or work every day of the month, without others knowing which days are menstrual,” Perkins said.
Girl Scout Troop 733 came up with the idea for reusable supplies after hearing a speech by Jacob Atem, who used to live in Sudan, Africa, Perkins said.
Atem said girls in Sudan often drop out of school because of their period.
Perkins said after hearing from Atem, the girls in the troop knew they wanted to help.
“Back then it was about learning the basics of sewing,” Perkins said. “Now, we can easily make 200 kits during one Sew-a-Thon.”
Savannah Stura, a 19-year-old UF biology sophomore, participated in the event with her service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that these girls don’t have the same opportunities as we have here,” Stura said. “Once you educate a population, they can do so much for themselves.”
Where they’re going in 2017:
- Peru
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Haiti
- Nepal
