It's amazing where a Pinterest search will bring you, and in this case it exposed me to an absolutely beautiful ministry for Haitian school girls.
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| Photo Courtesy of Sew in Peace |
I have always had a heart for Haitian children, but I've never gotten the chance to go there myself. And although there are so many ways to offer support financially, I never felt more burdened to take action then when I read this post from Sew in Peace.
Did you know Haitian school girls miss some 45 days a year because of their periods? Unlike American women who can go to almost any store and find 100 different products for their cycles, these girls don't have that luxury. That's why Sew in Peace, in conjunction with Mission Possible, bring cloth pads to these school girls in beautiful packages that include pain medication, soap, and new underwear. They also teach the girls about how to take care of their bodies.
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| Photo Courtesy of Sew in Peace - finished pack for Haitian girls |
The site includes a tutorial on how to make these cloth pads and send them to these girls in need, so they no longer have to miss school because of pain or lack of sanitary protection. How beautiful!
If you are wondering how cloth pads work, check out this site that discusses the pros of cloth pads. A set of 10 pads can last one girl a whole year because they can wash and reuse them.
After I read about this great project, I hopped in the car and headed to JoAnn Fabrics - these pads are remarkably simple to make and are such a blessing to these girls. (You need only VERY basic sewing skills to make them).
I'd love your help and here's how you can:
1. Go to the tutorial, purchase the supplies, make and send your own cloth pads.
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| Finished pad with snap closure (from now on, I'll be using plastic snaps) |
2. Donate supplies - do you have some thick 100% cotton flannel you aren't using? Would you like to purchase some 100% cotton batting or bamboo batting? You can go here and buy some size 20 colorful snaps to keep the pads in place. Even some all-purpose thread would make a huge difference. Mail it to me and I can take your supplies and turn them into the pads (I'll send you pictures when I'm done!) - just email me at nataliecdemacedo@gmail.com for my address.
3. Donate money. I will use the money to purchase supplies or to cover the cost of shipping the finished pads to Sew in Peace. Or, you can send the money directly to Sew in Peace and they will use it for their trip to Haiti in February.
4. Live in Hillsdale? I'm working on getting a group of women together to work on these each week - even if you can't sew, but can cut out simple shapes or trace them, I would love your help! I'm also looking for someone with a sewing machine I can borrow while I'm back at school.
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| Tracing the pattern onto the flannel |
One yard of flannel and one yard of cotton batting can make 12 pads - more than enough for one Haitian school girl. JoAnn's red tag flannel was only $1.50/yd. and the batting was on sale for $8.99/2 yds. (Warm and Natural). Each pad costs under $1 to make, depending, of course, on the cost of the flannel and batting.
You can fit 10 pads in the smallest Priority Mail box from the Post Office, which ships for a little more than $5.
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| Flannel cut and ironed, ready for batting and sewing! |
**Please Note: Sew in Peace does not accept any used fabric (from used clothing or sheets).
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| Finished pad, opened |
