Days for Girls (DFG) is a nonprofit-organization that prepares and distributes sustainable menstrual health solutions to girls who would otherwise miss school during their monthly periods. This scenario is so punctuated in various parts of Africa, and Tanzania most definitely.
DFG chapter in Orem, Utah partnered with US Synthetic (also based in Orem, Utah) and ROAM Humanitarian to put together kits that ROAM was able to take to Tanzania to donate to young girls in need. ROAM connected with a local female leader and gathered the females from the surrounding villages together. This afternoon event was a two-part objective: giving these wonderful DFG kits as well as receiving clear and improved education regarding everything sex health related from more awareness around STD’s, to what happens biologically during mendstration, sex, rape, and empowering themselves with clear-cut knowledge about their body and their anatomy!
This curriculum we provided by DFG is profoundly lacking in African cultures, and menstruation is viewed as a burden and an embarrassment rather than a natural byproduct of living. Blood is highly shunned and looked down upon, so without proper hygiene accessibility (many have to choose between food and hygienic period products because the latter is so unaffordable), these girls and women literally miss out on life once a week every month to conceal their period. It is truly period poverty, and if you consider that the average woman bleeds for 30-40 years, those missed weeks out of life really add up.
This sponsored project from DFG and US Synthetic with the additional education and training provided by ROAM was so meaningful and impactful. Not only can they reclaim a week from every month of their life but they are also equipped with the right materials to keep them from contracting infections and knowledge about what is happening in their bodies and how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies.
