Reusable Pad Trainings

An article I wrote for the Peace Corps Malawi Newsletter, Zimachitika.

 

Reusable Pad Trainings

Written by Kathi Ackerman

Many young girls in Malawi do not have access to feminine hygiene products, let alone the money to pay for such extravagance.  Because of this, it is estimated that 36 days per year are lost in school due to menstrual issues.  PCVs Elizabeth Karman and Caitlyn Lindquist designed a curriculum to teach young women about menstruation in a way that reduces both stigma and embarrassment while identifying ways in which girls can lead healthy, productive lives when they are on their periods.  

Caitlyn and Elizabeth visited Camp GLOW in August to introduce pad-trainings to 60 girls.  The emphasis was for girls to use peer education in their communities to talk about women’s health issues and introduce the reusable pad.  It was received with excitement and even I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the curriculum and patterns.  This is an issue I identified at the secondary school where I teach and I have found that working with the youth has been successful in my community.

The two girls I sent to GLOW were eager to start pad trainings with fellow secondary school girls.  We introduced the idea to the Medical Assistant at the hospital and he was excited about the idea and we also received support from the secondary school teachers.  In November, I had the pleasure of hosting pad-making extraordinaire Elizabeth during her Northern Pad Making Pandamonium Tour.  She is a rock star instructor and the girls loved her.  In two trainings, she educated 23 young women about women’s health, specifically menstruation.  She set up sewing stations around the room and the girls sang songs and chatted excitedly while the sewed the morning away.  The result was 23 happy young ladies who walked away with confidence, reusable sanitary napkins and invaluable knowledge.  They shared the news with their friends and since then I have conducted one training in December and have another planned in February.  My counterpart has happily taken over the project and has started teaching smaller sessions with a women’s group in Chichewa and Chitonga and their hope is to start an IGA in the next few weeks. 

You can access Elizabeth and Caitlyn’s pad curriculum on SharePoint (it’s easy-to-follow and great to use with Girls Clubs) and also refer to www.daysforgirls.org for more information. 

I write this because I am ecstatic to be introducing such an important idea to young women in my community and I cannot express how successful this project has turned out.  It was a hit!  Special thanks to Elizabeth and Caitlyn for putting together this awesome curriculum that can easily be implemented at our sites and especially to Elizabeth and her agogo ku America who helped make her Pad Making Tour possible.  We are most grateful!