Lori Huang4th year BIOSC major and pre-med student Every Wednesday, I head over to Third Presbyterian Church and walk into a room filled with stacks of fabric in plastic boxes and rows of sewing machines. Above the overflowing boxes, colorful paper cutouts cheerfully spell out “Days for Girls” on the wall. Days for Girls is a non-profit that makes and distributes sustainable fabric menstrual pads to girls around the world. The goal is to provide girls with menstrual education and these pads so they can continue going to school while on their period. At the Pittsburgh chapter of Days for Girls at the church, volunteers can make the pads that are then delivered where they are needed. I have cut, sewn, and checked the quality of the different components that go into the pad. These include the liner, which is the absorbent material that goes in the center of the pad, as well as the waterproof shields, which are where the liners are inserted. My favorite task is packing the menstrual kits, each of which includes two shields, seven liners, a washcloth, and a bar of soap. It’s both relaxing and satisfying once you get into the rhythm of packing the kits and progressively get faster. While volunteering there, I have gained a greater appreciation for the menstrual products available to me as well as a wider perspective on the world due to where we send the kits. For example, when I first began volunteering, we were preparing pads for a refugee camp in Jordan. As we were pinning together liners, Reverend Karie, who leads the Pittsburgh chapter, instructed me to remove any fabric that depicted food on it. Puzzled, I asked her why and she explained that since we were sending the kits to a refugee camp, the girls who will receive the kits might not have abundant food available. To put it simply, it would be unkind to provide food imagery when they may not be able to eat. Having never been without food, discarding the “food fabric” is something I would have never considered. Her comment reinforced my desire to volunteer with Days for Girls. While I could not deliver food to the refugee camp, at the very least I could make the female refugees’ lives a bit more comfortable with the pads I was making. I am excited to be able to stay in Pittsburgh after I graduate so I can continue making pads and packing kits. I have the satisfaction of knowing that somewhere, a girl will be able to use the pad I am constructing and have the freedom to go to school. If you are interested in volunteering for the Pittsburgh chapter of Days for Girls, you can contact Reverend Karie Charlton at [email protected].
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January 2022
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