Village International’s Period Project donated sanitary pads to different schools in Namibia late last year. They include De Duine Secondary School, Duinesig High School and Kuisebmond Secondary School among others.
According to Village International’s founder, Emily Sagaria, every woman deserves to feel confident and safe during her menstrual period. She believes a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education which is why the organisation provides free feminine hygiene products to girls.
“Our vision for the Period Project is to generate awareness and action to ensure that no girl will ever have to miss school because of her period again. The project has made education and safe menstrual products accessible and available to girls and women in Namibia, so they can experience the period self-care that many of us take for grantes,” said Sagaria.
With the help of generous donations, the group created over 300 menstrual kits, which were distributed to vulnerable girls aged between 13 and 17 in Namibian schools. The kits included pads, feminine hygiene wipes, underwear, toothbrushes, wash cloths, and liners.
Sagaria says the project intends to change the stigma associated with menstruation and transform it into a source of enlightenment and pride that helps restore dignity to girls everywhere.
“We also host ‘Let’s Chat. Period.’ workshops, where girls gather in a safe space to have conversations around menstruation. This workshop highlights various discussions including period poverty, taboos, menstrual health, and finding the right period products.”
Sagaria says the project was started after she learned that some girls in Namibia miss a certain amount of school every month while they are on their period which creates a vicious cycle. Due to inaccessibility of sanitary pads, girls often stay at home during their period, which leads to falling behind in their classwork and even dropping out of school.
“With a limited education derailing their career prospects, many of these young girls are forced to marry at a young age for financial security. Not only are they robbed of their dreams and aspirations, but their adolescence is forever transformed as marrying young in Namibia results in teenage pregnancy,” says Sagaria.
The organisation was founded in 2018, and is based in Canada. It works alongside communities in Canada, Namibia, and Kenya and directly reaches out to young women and children in disadvantaged communities to provide them with resources that meet their basic human rights. These needs vary from food, clothing, education, and health care.
Village International’s activities include fundraising for school fees and supplies, feeding programmes, feminine hygiene products, and newborn essentials. The organisation believes that access to education promotes good health, advances the equality of women, helps to reduce child poverty, and deepens social inclusion in communities.
The non-profit organisation depends on the generosity of donors to fund its programmes and campaigns. For more information contact info@villageinternational.org.
