Project Report
| Jan 13, 2022
Month by Month
By Shana Greene | Executive Director
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Dear Supporter,
I can only assume that buying hygiene products is taken for granted for most of us. When I first understood that not being able to buy sanitary pads were keeping girls from going to school therefore affecting their education, causing terrible stress, and worst-case scenario, girls and women were prostituting themselves to buy pads, I was horrified at the thought of so many suffering due to lack of a simple solution.
While cloth pads can be used but women and girls in rural communities often lack clean water to wash them and privacy to dry them in the sun. Without soap and sun, bacteria builds up and the cloth pad can do more harm than good. By purchasing biodegradable sanitary pads made by disenfranchised women in India and Kenya, you not only support young girls in school, but the women who make them.
The sanitary pad companies have been operating during COVID except for a few weeks of lockdown and they are proud of their company. We have continued to donate to buy pads purchased by donors like you.
And so, we ask for your help to sign on for a small monthly donation to keep girls feeling confident and supported by the kindness of strangers.
Thank you!
![Passing out pads to community leaders]()
Passing out pads to community leaders
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Sep 16, 2021
Little by Little Adds up to Success
By Shana Greene | Executive Director/Village Volunteers
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Dear Donor,
We purposely don't ask a lot of donors understanding that there are many wonderful programs to donate to but a small donation subscription or any size donation that buys pads from locally-made and women-managed companies is powerful. Your act of kindness helps to keep girls in school and helps them be confident to sit in school all day without the worry of leaks..
Cloth pads are fine for home but difficult when a pad must be changed during the day. A biodegradable pad can be disposed of in a pit latrine or at least be able to be disposed of discreetly. While little by little add up to success, ultimately success is up to the young girl. We have found through all our program directors that sanitary pads are an emotionally important item for a girl that can take the worry out of being humiliated at school and keeps a girl motivated to aim for success in life.
It's remarkable how your token of support adds up. We see it all of the time. In fact, one of our partners in Kenya has received a grant to create a sanitary pad project at the Lenana Girls School after the girls received pads and were so motivated to make it their business to provide pads. These girls are motivated to help others and we are motivated to buy pads from them for the vulnerable girls who have no access to funds or sanitary pads.
Thank you for helping us get this far and for supporting girls during this intimate time of the month.
Stay safe and well!
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May 18, 2021
A World of Hurt
By Shana Greene | Executive Director, Village Volunteers
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Hello supporters,
We have been feeling hopeful as our country's death toll drops. However, keeping up with India's need during the COVID pandemic has us heartbroken. Hearing that so many of our Indian friends are dealing with the death of family, friends and neighbors, we are helpless to have a large impact. We can't give them oxygen canisters or vaccines, but we can support the women who make the sanitary pads so they are able to make a living and feed their children. In turn, we also buy the pads from the women for the vulnerable girls and women who need sanitary pads. It may not fill their stomachs, but it does take away one more difficulty that woman must face during this painful chapter for India.
We appreciate your support during this time. We have conducted a fundraiser in the last few weeks so that our partner New Light can distribute meals. To date, since April 2020, New Light has distributed more than 1,000,000 meals. If you would like to donate $15, this small amount will feed someone for a week.
Thank you for your donations in the past and those of you who consistently buy pads. It is a way for women to feel dignity living in a red light district and it keeps the woman feeling liberated!
Thank you!
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