A young Colorado lady named Rebekah Marsh brought this fact to Africa Bags attention.
Rebekah came up with an idea to change this fact. With the help of her mom, Yolanda Marsh, together they brought Rebekah’s
idea to life and created Africa Pads: reusable washable menstrual pads.
Reusable
Washable Menstrual Pads:
These pads are sold in kits. A kit includes
a fun double sided purse for storage and discreet use, 3 base pads, 3 thick liner with wings, 2 thick liners, and 5 thin liners.
The kit is made entirely with African cotton. Cotton breathes which keeps odors away, is better for private areas, and makes
for a rash free happier period. It is like wearing a soft pillow. This kit can last up to 5 years. It is a one time buy for
women in Malawi which is important considering resources run slim. According
to the United Nations Population Fund, girls with less than seven years of schooling are more likely to be married by age
18, and early marriage is directly linked to an increased risk of HIV infection. This kit will help a girl attend school
full time so that she can be healthy, educated, achieve her dreams, and set out for a better future and a better Malawi.
Sustainability and Empowerment:
Africa Pads is a totally self-sustaining business that uses African fabric
and resources, teaches the Malawian women to make the pads themselves, and it empowers them to run the business and sell
the pads locally.
Happier Environment:
Disposable
pads are in general non-biodegradable, and most of Africa has no trash collection system. Thus disposable pads, if used in
Africa, usually wind up as litter becoming a health and environmental hazard. On average, a woman will throw away 250 to 300
pounds of pads or tampons into the landfill throughout her life (Flow: the Cultural Story of Menstruation, p. 238). Multiply
that by 3.5 billion women and that is a lot of trash! Africa Pads also cuts down on the waste produced by disposable pads
and tampons. Also, another really neat fact, menstrual blood is a natural fertilizer and in a land where fertilizer is unaffordable
for the average Malawian family this is great news. The water that used Africa Pads are soaked in can be thrown on plants
for fertilization purposes and also to not waste water.
Now the Africa Bags village of Kamweko is producing Africa Pads. These kits
will be sold to local women who can afford them. Unfortunately, most schoolgirls cannot. Africa Bags goals are to provide
schoolgirls with pad kits and underwear to empower them to stay in school.
Go to the Africa Bags Online Store and donate today and change a girl’s life for the better.
