Days for Girls

Guest post by: Ali Nash

What a special day at Rock of Ages! We were able to finish up all sponsorship letters and begin our Days for Girls project.

“Around the world, girls and women are without pads using rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and cow dung to manage their menstruation.” –Days for Girls Inc.

This is a harsh reality that so many women have to face and as women ourselves we felt the need to help. Days for Girls provide high quality feminine hygiene kits that enable women to menstruate and go to school, work, or just live a more comfortable life style.

Our team was lucky enough to collect 100 kits to give to the girls at Rock of Ages. Walking into the room we weren’t sure what to expect. Not knowing what the students had been taught or if they even knew that puberty is right around the corner. It’s very common in countries such as Uganda to shy away from this topic. We were all pleasantly surprised to find out Rock of Ages had it covered. Not only have all of the girls had “the talk” but the ones who had already started their periods have been given a Days for Girls pack in the recent past. While we passed out the kits and extra pairs of underwear, students were able to freely ask questions and one girl was even able to stand up and talk about her experience while using the Days for Girls kit (and the report was great!).

We handed out 40 kits to all the girls and teachers. Our faces mirrored theirs in excitement and our hearts were filled with genuine happiness, as we knew these kits could be life changing for them. In Uganda alone the school drop-out rate for girls has gone from 36% to 8% since Days for Girls has started distributing their reusable feminine hygiene packets. Many powerful women are able to reach their full potential because of essentials such as these and we were so thrilled to be a part of such a toughing project.