Project: Supporting the Health and Literacy Needs of Girls
Project Partners: Days For Girls, Etobicoke Collegiate Institute Interact Club, and Richview Collegiate Institute Interact Club
Status: Ongoing - click "Read more..." below for the 2019 update
Update for 2019
Maria Pollieri, team leader of the Toronto chapter of Days For Girls, provided an update on the activities and plans for Days For Girls for events occuring recently and for the coming year.
The provision of the kits involves two initiatives: their physical distribution and the presentation of education related to menstruation, female health and the use of the kits. Whoever distributes the kits must also handle the education component, and to do this, the people must be Days For Girls Ambassadors, who have undergone culturally sensitive training on how to present the educational components, which are customized for male and female audiences. Groups receiving the kits must go through an application process which includes a thorough vetting. This step is necessary to ensure that the intended recipients receive the kits.
The Toronto team has focussed on providing kits for distribution in Cambodia, Peru, Equador, Philippines and various countries in Africa. Distribution and education in 5 schools in Cambodia are occuring with the assistance of Banyan Tree Global Foundation, a charitable organization which includes empowering education as one of its objectives. In Peru, distribution and education are being handled by students from Brock University. The involvement of people from an educational setting extends to the distribution and education efforts in Equador, where distribution and education have been handled by a high school teacher from Hamilton, ON. Rotarian Phillip Barker has facilitated distribution in the Philippines, and the charity Send Seeds to Africa coordinates efforts there. In the coming year, a new focus will be to begin programs for regions in need of disaster relief.
Days For Girls works with a variety of Rotary Clubs, but in connection with RTW, has had support from the Interact Clubs we sponsor too. The Interact Club of Etobicoke Collegiate Institute has offered ongoing support with marketing, in addition to their participation in kit making events and fundraising, while the Interact Club of Richview Collegiate Institute has done an incredible job of fundraising by using their football team to promote the cause.
Here is a recording of Maria's talk:
More About The Project
Our Community's Challenge
Girls around the world drop out of school because of embarrassment and hygienic concerns related to managing their periods. This causes the literacy rate among girls to decline, which impacts them as women because they lack the needed skills to be employed in anything but the most rudimentary of jobs. Promoting literacy among girls raises the economic status of entire communities.
How We Took Action
The Rotary Club of Toronto West and our partners participate in kit making events. Menstrual hygiene kits are prepared with safe, sustainable, reusable contents. Days For Girls distributes the kits to over 120 countries. To date, more than 1 million kits have been delivered. RTW made a donation of $2500 to purchase a cutter that allows Days for Girls Toronto to make more kits faster. Our Interact Clubs also raised money for Days for Girls by packaging donated LUSH soaps and obtaining contributions to Days for Girls from other students, teachers, friends and families.
Using The Campaign
Our events are promoted before and after through social media with images such as those featured below, and the success of the events are reported on our website.