by Kylee Boyter
kboyter@cherryroad.com
Days for Girls (DfG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing washable pads, health education, and social enterprises to women and girls in need across the world. Today, DfG has impacted the lives of 3.2 million women and girls with periods in 145 countries by supplying them with products and education to empower them.
DfG began in 2008 when their founder, Celeste Mergens, was working with a foundation in Kenya assisting an orphanage in the outskirts of Nairobi. While there assisting, Mergens inquired about the menstrual health practices of the many girls in the orphanage. Mergens learned that many were sitting on cardboard in their rooms for several days of each month.
Originally, Mergens focused on disposable pads, however, another barrier discovered was not having a location to dispose of the products, so a sustainable solution was determined to be a washable, long-lasting pad.
After several designs and prototypes, the Days for Girls kits now contain a reusable menstrual pad designed to meet the unique cultural and environmental conditions in any community in the world.
Tiffany Larsen, chief executive officer of DfG stopped and visited with the Redmond chapter on Wed., August 28th to discuss the impact their group has made on the lives of other women across the world as well as answer any questions about the organization.
“Today there are 500 million girls without access to menstruation products,” said Larsen. “This lack of access to period products creates an invisible barrier nationwide which affects young girls’ access to education.”
This invisible barrier is called ‘period poverty’, which is used to describe the struggle that many women and girls face because of the lack of access to adequate menstrual health management supplies and education, as started by the DfG website.
DfG like many other programs aim to transform cultural attitudes as well as barriers that prevent girls from attending school by supplying them with ethical menstrual products.
The impact of period poverty doesn’t end with missing school, but can also lead to health issues like urinary and genital infections and stigma and shame surrounding menstruation.
“At Days for Girls we like to use the phrase ‘the power of we’,” said Larsen. “Together we can make a difference for women.”
The Redmond chapter has been actively making reusable period products since 2018 and has collectively made 1,000 products that have been distributed across the world to young women in need.
“It takes us about 12 hours to make an entire menstrual kit,” said Marcia Bosshardt, DfG Redmond member and chapter president. “Each kit includes two pairs on underwear, a wash cloth, reusable pads with liners, and a storage bag for discrete storage.”
The kit costs about $12 to make and is distributed and provided to young girls in need at no cost. This product is designed to supply a young women with the proper sanitary products to last them between 4-5 years.
“These kits are complicated to make and requires a team to make,” said Mindi Tietjen, DfG member.
The Redmond chapter meets on the last Wednesday of each month to make DfG kits at the Bosshardt residents.
To join this humanitarian initiative, visit https://www.daysforgirls.org/ or contact Marcia Bosshardt at nmbosshardt@msn.com.
