Days for Girls
Join us to find out more about Days for Girls and sew components for kits for Days for Girls. We decided to do each component for two months. Here's the schedule for 2023:
Jan / Feb - drawstring bags
Mar / Apr - shields
May / Jun - carry pouches
Jul / Aug - liners
Sep / Oct - drawstring bags
Nov / Dec - shields
If you are joining us for a hands-on sewing sessionWe
Please bring basic sewing supplies - such as scissors, seam ripper, bobbins for your machine, etc. in addition to a variety of machines (sewing vs. serger), mini-iron, rulers, rotary cutters, etc.. Details are listed on the Facebook page events. (https://www.facebook.com/Days-for-Girls-Wilmington-Delaware-Team-273098353612014/)
In addition, donations are welcome - financial, 100% cotton quilting or flannel for shields and liners, poly cotton for the bags. Other items we can use include Size 20 KAM snaps and 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, and PUL (polyurethane waterproof laminated fabric).
How It All Began
Days for Girls began in 2008 when Founder and CEO Celeste Mergens was working with a family foundation in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya where she began assisting an orphanage. In the wake of historic post-election violence, the population at the orphanage had swelled from 400 children to 1,400.
As she was getting prepared to return to Nairobi, Celeste went to bed with the devastating situation weighing heavy on her mind. In the middle of the night, she woke up with a nagging question: “What are girls doing for feminine hygiene?” Seeking an answer, she ran to the computer and sent an email to the Assistant Director of the orphanage.
He replied right away, “Nothing. They wait in their rooms.”
Celeste learned that girls were sitting on cardboard for several days each month, often going without food unless someone would bring it to them. This set in motion her first intervention - disposable pads. But Celeste and her team quickly discovered a major problem - without any place to dispose of the pads, this was neither a viable nor a sustainable solution. It was time for Plan B: a washable, long-lasting pad.
The first Days for Girls Kits were quite different from the design in use today. Each of the 28 iterations that followed would be informed by extensive feedback and designed to meet unique cultural and environmental conditions in communities throughout the world. What would eventually become clear in the years following Days for Girls’ beginning was just how much of a difference hygiene solutions would make in assisting women and girls to break the cycle of poverty and live lives of dignity.
Today, Days for Girls has reached more than two million women and girls in 140+ countries with DFG Kits and menstrual health education. This translates into over 115 million days of dignity, health, and opportunity!
| Instructor: | Melody Kasprzak |
| Instructor Bio: | Melody was taught to sew when she was 10 by her mother and has been sewing ever since. Her mom also taught her to embroider, including crewel and counted cross-stitch. Melody has tried other needle crafts, including needlepoint, knitting, crocheting, and quilting. However, machine embroidery is her current favorite. |
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