Days for Girls





Days for Girls is a worldwide organisation that is made up of over 180 chapters and teams that produce kits to provide girls in areas of need with sustainable sanitary hygiene products. We were first made aware of the organisation when we attended the Rotary International Convention in Sydney in 2014 and Kathy decided at that time that this was something that she wanted to be involved with and subsequently set up Days for Girls Gold Coast with Bianca Surch.

The kits that are provided through the Days for Girls project are significant. Instead of having  DAYS without school, DAYS without income, DAYS without leaving the house and instead of girls having to use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks, anything they can find, girls do not have to miss out up to 2 months of school every year as they do now. This is, in itself, a surprising but instrumental key to social change for women all over the world.

The kits are made to very strict guidelines and are made up of two sewn shields, eight sewn liners, a face washer, bar of soap, pair of panties, zip lock bag and a fabric bag for storing it all. The Gold Coast Team was only formed this year and has just held its first Sewing Day with eighteen people involved but there is much more to the project that just sewing. The materials involved need to be sourced, washed and ironed and then the kits made up. Once completed, the kits need to then get overseas to the chosen community and all of this takes funds so fund raising is a big challenge as well.

The Gold Coast Team is currently working on stage 1 and has the goal of getting 20 kits to Cambodia, 30 to Vanuatu and also working with an orphanage in India. We have just had word of another group who will be contacting us for 500 kits to go to a rural area of Cambodia.

Some very exciting news is that we have been approached by a local consultant for doTERRA, a company that sells essential oils & has a strong connection with Days for Girls in the US. She recently came back from a conference in the US where she was introduced to Days for Girls and came home and approached our team offering support in many areas but she will also have her team of ladies to support us.

The Days for Girls Gold Coast is excited to be working with the Rotary e-Club of NextGen and welcomes any assistance from club members with support in areas of need. There will be regular posts on both the Days for Girls Gold Coast Facebook page and on the club's Facebook page but there is also a monthly newsletter being produced that can be subscribed to here - http://eepurl.com/bzNnrP

For more information please contact:  Kathy and Bruce Rogers.