Young women, mothers and sisters from congregations in the Thornlie area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered on May 6th to sew washable feminine hygiene kits for girls and women in need.
Days for Girls, Perth
Perth women assemble feminine hygiene kits© 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.“Days for Girls International,” since 2008, is a nonprofit organisation that prepares and distributes sustainable menstrual health solutions to girls who would otherwise miss school during their monthly periods.
Penny, an instructor from the Perth Chapter, “Days for Girls Perth,” said, “I wanted to get involved after travelling through Asia and coming to the shocking realisation that the knowledge of what young women are to do monthly to look after themselves, was not automatically handed down from mother to daughter. I love to see and love to help women, so this was a natural work for me to be involved in.”
Karen Schokker said, “My sister in the US told me five years ago about this service and I was inspired to get involved with this organisation who were helping girls who sit on cardboard when they menstruate. I couldn’t believe in this day and age that is all they had. I felt this was the perfect project for women to be helping other women.”
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The room was set-up with about a dozen workstations including sewing machines, overlockers, templates, ironing boards, ribbons for carry bags, and more.
Jodie Waldon, a volunteer leader of the Young Women’s organisation of The Church of Jesus Christ was inspired by this service project “to help our young women recognise the blessing of living in Australia and raise awareness of the needs of other girls elsewhere in the world and enjoy the feelings that come from serving.”
Lauricia Murner said, “My daughter loves to sew, so we thought we would come and help her develop and share her talents.”
Sue Noney, leader of the Church's Relief Society (women’s organisation) in the area, said, “I wanted this particular service project to be offered to have our young women and their mothers and sisters come to serve and learn together. We can all learn from each other and use our many talents. We are all busy, but this is an opportunity to meet up and work as one.”
According to organisers, the 50 women who attended enjoyed the opportunity to serve together, catch-up with old friends and make new ones. They felt joy and fulfillment in serving God’s children, their worldwide sisters, and are eager for this to become a yearly event.