SafeGirl International
SAFE GIRL INTERNATIONAL
My name is Gonsag Odero. I am the co-founder of Safe Girl International and also the co-founder Township Foundation Education Centre, I work in a rural Western Kenya in orphans and destitute Education Centre (TFEC) I have made it my goal to make 1000 reusable sanitary towels for disadvantaged girls in Kenya, this is after seeing how girls are suffering during their menses, particularly missing out of School during this time, they miss up to 5 days during this time and this is really affecting their Education greatly. At some point where, they are unable to get the towels, they end up engaging in sexual activities with adults, and it’s sad they end up in geting early pregnancies, HIV/AIDs and School dropout. What motivated me to come up with this project is two months ago three School girls approached me to buy for them Sanitary towels, they went ahead and shared with what they really face during the time of their menses, this really caught my attention. On of this project we want make re-usable sanitary pads for girls who cannot afford to buy them. This means they have had their education compromised because they are unable to attend school for days at a time. I did some research and discovered the same applied to many girls all over Kenya, A study published by consulting firm FSG in 2016 showed that seven out of ten women and girls (65 percent) in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary towels. So, I have set a goal to do everything I could to help those girls with any resources I could get. My plan is to make reusable sanitary pads and donate them to girls who cannot afford them, starting with those from my village in Rangwe. Not only do I want to supply them with the sanitary wear, but also to teach them the trade where they could make an extra allowance from selling them to those who can afford to buy them. This project will be set up in June 2020 and will run during the School terms of the year, but I plan to establish it as a small organization (Safe Girl International) so that it continues to run even after the Schools are in holidays, I have the desire, the motivation and the drive to get this project off the ground, but I am lacking the financial resources and support. The costs that need to be covered include buying two sewing machines, materials to make the 4 layers of the sanitary pads (nylon, cotton, toweling and fleece), transportation costs to and from remote areas and paying electricity bills (electricity is quite expensive in Kenya) I have created an achievable plan of employing 2 women to make 600 pads over the course of 2 weeks. I will make the other 400. The pads will be given to those who cannot afford to buy them and sold to those who can. The profits will be used to pay those making the pads and anything left over will be put back into making more pads. This is such a worthwhile project – I hope you will be able to help with anything you can!
Rangwe, a village in Homa Bay County, Kenya
My name is Gonsag Odero. I am the co-founder of Safe Girl International and also the co-founder Township Foundation Education Centre, I work in a rural Western Kenya in orphans and destitute Education Centre (TFEC) I have made it my goal to make 1000 reusable sanitary towels for disadvantaged girls in Kenya, this is after seeing how girls are suffering during their menses, particularly missing out of School during this time, they miss up to 5 days during this time and this is really affecting their Education greatly. At some point where, they are unable to get the towels, they end up engaging in sexual activities with adults, and it’s sad they end up in geting early pregnancies, HIV/AIDs and School dropout. What motivated me to come up with this project is two months ago three School girls approached me to buy for them Sanitary towels, they went ahead and shared with what they really face during the time of their menses, this really caught my attention. On of this project we want make re-usable sanitary pads for girls who cannot afford to buy them. This means they have had their education compromised because they are unable to attend school for days at a time. I did some research and discovered the same applied to many girls all over Kenya, A study published by consulting firm FSG in 2016 showed that seven out of ten women and girls (65 percent) in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary towels. So, I have set a goal to do everything I could to help those girls with any resources I could get. My plan is to make reusable sanitary pads and donate them to girls who cannot afford them, starting with those from my village in Rangwe. Not only do I want to supply them with the sanitary wear, but also to teach them the trade where they could make an extra allowance from selling them to those who can afford to buy them. This project will be set up in June 2020 and will run during the School terms of the year, but I plan to establish it as a small organization (Safe Girl International) so that it continues to run even after the Schools are in holidays, I have the desire, the motivation and the drive to get this project off the ground, but I am lacking the financial resources and support. The costs that need to be covered include buying two sewing machines, materials to make the 4 layers of the sanitary pads (nylon, cotton, toweling and fleece), transportation costs to and from remote areas and paying electricity bills (electricity is quite expensive in Kenya) I have created an achievable plan of employing 2 women to make 600 pads over the course of 2 weeks. I will make the other 400. The pads will be given to those who cannot afford to buy them and sold to those who can. The profits will be used to pay those making the pads and anything left over will be put back into making more pads. This is such a worthwhile project – I hope you will be able to help with anything you can!
Rangwe, a village in Homa Bay County, Kenya
Co-organizers2
Sara Velasquez
Organizer
Miami Beach, FL
Gonsag Odero
Co-organizer