We cannot allow poverty to take dignity from women!

Imagine that you have to choose between food for your family and basic hygiene... With no access to sanitary pads women have to use leaves, sand or a mattress cut into pieces in order to be able to go to school or work.

36% of Kenyans spend less than 1.90$ daily – for them sanitary pads are a luxury!

Due to the lack of menstrual pads, one in ten girls in the world miss classes at school (UNESCO, 2022)... This is the reality of millions of women. But together, we can change that! We cannot allow menstruation to close the door to education and better life for women!

“For this reason, we initiated Rajd Victoria (Victoria Rally) – a program that focuses on training women how in sewing reusable sanitary pads as well as on health education workshops. It is not one time assiastance – it is a change that will serve them for years! We give them tools to promote independence and create better future! - says Maja Kotala, an initiator and creator of the Sewing Together programme with whom we fight period poverty together.

Maja lives in Kenya, she gained her knowledge and experience while taking actions there – that is where the idea for this initiative came to her.

One coffee = a set of reusable pads that can change the a woman’s life! For the price of one coffee ordered in a café, you can provide safety and self-confidence for a girl
during her period!

Why is it so important?

✅ Period poverty is a barrier that takes education from girls. In the developing countries, girls miss even up to 20% of school classes yearly due to the lack of proper sanitary products. In Kenya, as many as 65% of women and girls cannot afford sanitary pads.

✅ 10% of 15-year-old girls had sex in exchange for sanitary products – this has to stop! Let’s give them chance to do it differently! Women take vocational training and gain financial independence. Each new sewing room means dozens of workplaces and a chance for a dignified life for hundreds of people.

✅ We are breaking the menstruation taboo. We educate women in order to give them access to the basic knowledge on their health. Only 32% of village schools in Kenya have a private place for girls to change their sanitary products.

✅ Lack of proper education leads to dramatic consequences. Some of the girls swap used pads and other ones have to take risks to get the basic hygiene products. In Kenyan villages, 2 in 3 women receive sanitary pads from their sexual partners!

As many as 3000 women gained new skills, and 18 sewing rooms work independently! Now, there is a key stage before us – the last stop of Victoria Rally – Lake Turkana. We want to create another sewing room that will change the lives of thousands of women.

A sanitary pad costs 1$ but for many women it is a luxury – let’s help change that! It is the best moment to show our strength and solidarity!

We need 9600 PLN to equip the sewing room, organise workshops and give women tools for independence. Each zloty is a real change! Join us! Let’s show together that women’s solidarity knows no bounds!

Read Maja’s story:

When I was getting back from the bush, my period started. There was no place where I could stop and buy sanitary pads. In the first village, I asked for sanitary pads in a store – a shop assistant only curled his lips and answered that they were not available. Once I found a toilet, I was not sure if I should even go inside. Water was available only in a bucket and it looked like it had been there for weeks. However, I was lucky – I had wipes and a sock that I could use as I pad. It was a moment of realisation for me. I understood what women, who have nothing, have to do. What means they have to use to “survive this time” – said Maja.

Only 32% of schools in Kenyan villages have a place for girls to change their sanitary products – let’s improve these conditions together! Women’s solidarity knows no bounds! Let’s break the menstruation taboo! By supporting women, you support the future of entire societies!

Girls miss up to 20% of lessons each year because they do not have sanitary pads – let’s help them learn!

A sanitary pad costs 1$ but for many women it is an obstacle they cannot overcome! We can remove it together! Period poverty is a global injustice – let’s change that!

Your donation is a chance for them! Together, we can build another sewing room that will change the lives of thousands of women.
Thank you for each donated zloty!