a peek inside the fishbowl

05 Jul, 2008

worthy of sharing

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

This info crossed my inbox the other day and I’ve been meaning to post about it. It’s not an issue that has received attention from Big Media.

“For some girls in Southern Africa, getting their period means missing school for several days each month.

That’s because they don’t have access to something many of us take for granted: feminine protection.”

I have to be honest and say that this issue isn’t one I’ve ever really thought about.

There is an initiative called Protecting Futures (sponsored by Tampax and Always) to improve school facilities and educational programs, and provide resources to help girls in Southern Africa maintain school attendance during menstruation. (This commercial explains the program.)

There is an another component. This year, 21 teens – including Natasha Clark, a native of Coldstream, BC – will spend their summer in Africa working on the program.

Makes you think, and appreciate what you have, doesn’t it?


5 Responses to "worthy of sharing"

1 | porter

July 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

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I did hear about this issue…I can’t recall if I read an article, saw a commercial or how I learned about the issue.

Something else that I’ve thought about is just what women who can’t afford products do. I mean lets face it these products are expensive! It’s not like we have a choice in buying them, sure there are plenty of ‘makes and models’ but they are all costly yet necessary.

2 | Shannon

July 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm

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There’s another organization with a much lower profile working towards doing very similar things, in a sustainable way: http://www.goods4girls.org/

-s, lurker by way of refashionista, whose 2 kids attend the same school as yours do.

3 | andrea

July 5th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

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Welcome lurker Shannon – thanks for the URL. I do like the sustainability of what this group is doing, “…donating new, reusable menstrual pads to areas of Africa where obtaining high-quality products is difficult…. in areas of adequate water supply for washing.”

Makes sense!

4 | Javamom

July 6th, 2008 at 8:01 am

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I think about this often, and not just the schoolgirls, but the people who are surviving things like earthquakes, or are in refugee camps. And about the poor women who have recently given birth and are, in some cases probably, menstruating or “flowing” for how many weeks after birth? All we have to do is reach for a tampon, or a Diva (?) cup. (My sister swears by them and they are reusable. Wonder if the makers of the Diva Cup would consider donations to women?)

5 | Kaitlin

October 24th, 2011 at 10:05 am

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I stumbled upon this post by way of searching “sponsored post”. I’m looking for stuff on blog monetization at the moment (or at least, I was…)

As much as I want to pat Tampax on the back for this, I can’t. Most of these areas where the tampons and pads are going don’t exactly have the infrastructure to dispose of them properly, and I have to wonder about the public health effects of that. I think that they should be applauded for bringing awareness to the matter, but that ultimate Good for Girls gets that sustainability and reusability has to be considered when making donations of this matter.

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My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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