A Sanitary Affair

A few months ago, I was given the task of helping to source sanitary towels for women in local refugee camps who cannot afford this basic necessity.

The ladies on the MAF team here and at our Juba church generously provided packs of sanitary towels and money so that we could help to get these goods to women who need them. I found myself with the rather unorthodox task of sorting and counting boxes of sanitary towels and storing them in our home!

With the cash raised, my friend Sue did some investigation into the best way to spend funds. She organised the purchase of some new products, from Uganda, which have been specially designed for women living in impoverished conditions. These are called, "Afripads".

Afripads are a novel and brilliant way of providing this most essential item- as they can be washed out and used again - and again. Each pack comes with careful instructions that allows ladies to hand wash the towels, dry them in the bleaching, germ-busting African sun and re-use them. What a great idea for ladies living in poverty, who cannot simply buy a new pack once their old ones have been used up.

Unbelievably, political sensitivities and red tape meant that we were sadly refused access to the ladies  who live in the Juba camps and who need these items. It's a long, complicated story which I won't go into...

 However, the need for such a product is also, unfortunately, prevalent among the street girls of Juba- so a friend at MAF contacted a wonderful lady called Cathy Groenendijk-Nabukwasi who works tirelessly for the rights and protection of street kids here. We asked her if she was interested in using the boxes of towels- and the Afri-pads- to distribute them among girls and young ladies who need them.

Cathy was enthusiastic about being able to distribute the goods. She came to collect the Afri-pads, excited to actually have the product to give away; she had previously only heard about them. I was pleased that, finally, this practical product could be given to those who need them (and it was nice to have our office space back, rather than working around boxes of sanitary products!).

(Cathy has pioneered an amazing refuge for vulnerable children in Juba. To read more, visit: www.confidentchildren.org )

Cathy's staff came by to pick up the remaining boxes, all carefully packed in old cardboard boxes from local shops. The products would be carefully given out to those needing them.

It is hard to think that for many women worldwide, basic necessities like these are denied them: they are simply too expensive and inaccessible. But it is also good to know that there are companies in existence who carefully consider the needs of those without means and work to create products such as "Afripads" to provide practical solutions for such basic needs.