A center dedicated to sewing reusable feminine products for women in developing countries will open in Gainesville today.
The Alachua chapter of Days for Girls International, an organization dedicated to educating women in developing countries and providing them with feminine products, helped to open the sewing center at 1731 NW Sixth St.
Radha Selvester, the chair of the Alachua chapter of Days for Girls International, said the center is the second of its kind to ever be built in the U.S. It will give anybody the opportunity to stop by and help make feminine hygiene kits, she said.
Selvester said Troop 733 initially set out to make 200 feminine hygiene kits to donate to women in South Sudan, calling the project, “Mission Possible: Keep Girls in School. Period.”
In many developing countries, women don’t have access to feminine products and will sometimes sit on cardboard as a way to cope, Selvester said. Because they don’t have easy access to these products, female students can miss weeks of school due to their period.
After having five “sew-a-thon” events, Troop 733 met their goal in six months. At the sew-a-thons, the troop paired with women from the American Sewing Guild to learn how to sew and create the reusable kits, Selvester said.
“In August or September, we got a whole packet of thank-you notes from the girls who received the kits,” she said. “I read all of them in one sitting with a box of tissues. We had made such a difference in these girls’ lives.”
Because Selvester and Troop 733 wanted to continue helping women in developing countries, they became Florida’s first chapter of Days for Girls International. Since officially becoming a chapter in 2013, Selvester said Troop 733 have helped women in countries including Kenya, Malawi and Peru.
The group will host a meeting in the brand new sewing center Monday for anyone looking to get involved in their mission.
Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell said the determination of the group’s members sets a stellar example for the community.
“Girl Scout Troop 733 and Ms. Radha Selvester serve as inspiration to girls everywhere,” Darnell wrote in an email.
Contact Catie Wegman at cwegman@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter: @catie_wegman.
