Change a life for just £10 - by saving a girl from Period Poverty

Weʼre raising £3,000 to give 300 brilliant menstrual cups and education in menstrual health to vulnerable girls in rural Kenya

The Story:

Hundreds of girls in Africa are missing education because of period poverty. But you can change one girl’s life for just £10.

The Problem:

In villages like Rombo, there is simply no money for tampons or sanitary towels. In any case, these are not sustainable solutions.

Girls may try to make do with rags, leaves or bark. The risk of humiliation if they have a leak in a country where the subject of periods is still taboo forces many to simply stay at home during their time of the month.

That could amount to three months of schooling lost every year. Lost education and lost opportunity.

This is not an isolated problem. In 2015 UNICEF and the World Health Organization estimated that at least five hundred million women lack sufficient resources to manage their periods.

The Solution:

The Menstrual Cup is a simple but effective solution. It means a girl is liberated and no longer has to miss school.

Made from medical grade silicon, the cup can be reused for up to 10 years. It costs nothing to reuse and, of course, there is nothing to throw away - so it is both environmentally friendly and brilliant value.

Our campaign:

VSO volunteers in Rombo and nearby villages are being taught by The Cup Foundation, an international charity, how to distribute cups to girls in marginalised communities. That means teaching good hygiene as well as breaking down taboos. Our initial goal is to raise the money for 300 cups, which we will distribute. The ultimate goal is to get the work onto a sustainable footing so that future volunteers are equipped to change the lives of thousands of girls, giving them the life chances and the dignity they deserve.

What you can do:

If you give £10, you will fund one cup. We will provide the education and distribution to ensure it goes to a girl who is taught how to use it safely.

That’s £10 to change a life. What an amazingly cost-effective donation!

So why not give £20 and change two lives? Or donate £50 and you’ll change five lives.

For more information visit Voluntary Service Overseas and The Cup Foundation online:

https://www.vsointernational.org/

https://www.thecup.org/

Thank you for looking.

Laura

PS:

My lovely grandma Eileen Copley died on July 8, 2019 and the family have asked for donations to this project instead of flowers at her funeral. Grandma would have been really thrilled to see this project as she felt strongly that no girl, anywhere, should suffer the indignity and embarrassment of period poverty.