Lunapads Blog

Anna Ebert wrote to us in March of 2012 to inquire whether we might be able to supply 50,000 Pads4Girls kits: we were amazed! It has taken some time to work out the details, however we are thrilled to announce that distribution of 10,000 “Transformation Textiles” (pads and panties made from waste fabric from mass-scale garment production) Kits will commence in July 2012.

For just $5, you can donate a kit made of 3 pairs of adjustable-size panties and 6 pads to a girl in need – thanks to Anna and Transformation Textiles. Donate here.

Here is Anna’s story about her work in Malawi and why she reached out to us:

“I work amongst the Tumbuka tribe in northern Malawi. There are approximately 1.4 million people there. I feel they are a forgotten people; difficult to reach….but not impossible.

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Can you tell us about you and what brought you to start Girlvana Yoga.
I wanted to inspire the next generation of women. I was really seeing the pressure teens are under to look, act and be a certain way. I have experienced how powerful yoga has been in my life as at catalyst to becoming the most authentic version of myself. I thought that the teachings of yoga needed to be translated to younger girls. I had tumultuous teen years growing up as a competitive dancer struggling with body image, self-esteem and self worth. I wanted to share my story and empower these girls.

Girlvana Yoga is an interesting name, how did you come up with it?
It came to me in the middle of the night. I couldn’t sleep, so I hopped on my computer and started brainstorming the blend of Sanskrit words with ‘girl’ and ‘teen.’ Girlvana comes from the root word Nirvana that means free from suffering or a way out. I want to give girls just that- a way out of suffering.

What is Girlvana all about?
It is about self-expression and celebrating your uniqueness. Yoga is a lifestyle. The physical postures are just one element. I want girls to be themselves and yoga is one way to really explore who you are on a deeper level. Yoga is everything from the way you treat your mother, to the food you put in your body, to the way you perceive the world.

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A week ago Suzanne and I presented our first TED talk as part of the Berlin-based TEDxChange event that was also held at satellite locations in 193 cities. TEDxChange was convened by Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (the event’s strategic partner), the theme was “The Big Picture”, with a stated goal of addressing global issues. Here in Vancouver the banner was flown by TEDxKids@BC, a dynamic, youth-focused TEDx chapter.

What’s not to love about TED talks? Some of our office faves include Simon Sinek’s Start with Why, Brene Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability and Leymah Gwobee’s Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls. What knocked our socks off about the @BCKids event was that a bunch of teenagers and young adults could be as poised and confident in telling their stories as you would expect from a seasoned TED speaker. Not to mention the gravity of issues and experiences that they brought to light: check out these examples.

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Lindsay Coulter is David Suzuki’s Queen of Green, living in Vancouver, BC. A lover of nature and advocate of do-it-yourself, her first period came when she was 12.

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I got my period in grade six—must have been 12 years old.

It happened at school; I knew what it was right away. After all, our class had watched those awkward videos about growing hair in weird places, etc. At lunch hour I grabbed my best friend Kari to plot next steps.

We ran to my house, half a block away (kids in my day walked to school!) and sussed out the bathroom for my mom’s tried, tested and true products. Yeah. That’s wasn’t happening. Think of how small you were at 12. Now, picture a super-plus Tampax tampon with cardboard applicator! There was no way this thing was going to fit. I also had no idea what to do with it.

Plan B: my friend said her mom used pads. And it was the 80’s, so we’re talking Kotex pads that came with a belt! Unfazed, we grabbed a box of facial tissue and a roll of scotch tape—we were in the sanitary pad making business now! (I was a DIYer at a young age.)

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Making this video about my affection for Judy Blume’s classic novel Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret inspired me to expand on my comments on Hannah’s First Period Story and make a proper post about my own experience.

Like Margaret and her pals (they had a club called PTS, or the Pre-Teen Sensations, an idea emulated by a group of friends and I), I couldn’t wait to start my period and was totally enraptured by the idea of becoming a “woman”. Bras, periods, sex, makeup – all of it fascinated me, and I read endless books and magazines about all of it. My Mom was awesome (she herself had had no preparation for the onset of menarche, and was terrified that she was dreadfully ill when her period started) and tirelessly answered my questions without embarrassment.

I was a late bloomer when it came to puberty, and was 13 and a half by the time my period started. We were away on a summer family vacation at a lake in the BC interior. Summers always made me self-conscious about my persistently uncurvy body, and this holiday was no exception – was there something wrong with me?

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As regular readers will be aware, over the past decade Lunapads has been developing the Pads4Girls program to bring reusable feminine hygiene supply kits to thousands of girls and women in need in over 15 countries. Pads4Girls seeks to address an often-overlooked problem that hundreds of millions of girls and women in developing nations face: missing school or work for several days every month because they lack adequate menstrual hygiene supplies. You can learn more about the issue and its impact on our site here, and in the Pads4Girls section of our blog.

Trying to determine how to make a bigger impact with Pads4Girls from a distance only goes so far, and we feel called to learn more and go deeper. In January 2012 Suzanne and I will be traveling to Uganda with Shanti Uganda, a Vancouver-based charity that improves infant and maternal health, provides safe women-centered care and supports the well-being of birthing mothers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

We are appealing to the Lunapads community to raise funds to enroll 300 teenage girls in Shanti Uganda’s At Risk Girls Program, a health and wellness program focused on inspiring futures for girls and teen mothers in Kasana Town Uganda. As part of the workshop, each girl will receive AFRIpads (Ugandan-made cloth pads based on Lunapads, see below for more information about them) and a health education manual.

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Yesterday we had the extraordinary good fortune to be visited by some remarkable people working for change for Ethiopians, the leaders of Partners in the Horn of Africa, and Hope for Children.

Yewoinshet Masresha is an engaging and charismatic Ethiopian woman and the founder of Hope for Children, an organization which has received worldwide attention for its pioneering work in the care of women and children affected by HIV/AIDS.

A social activist from her early teens, Yewoinshet joined the Red Cross at age 17 during a period of political instability and war in Ethiopia. When she refused to marry a high ranking military official she was imprisoned in solitary confinement for three years. She emerged with a renewed strength and commitment to help women and children in need. The impact of  HIV/AIDS was having a profound effect on the country and many children were losing one or both parents to the virus. It was in response to this HIV/AIDS crisis that Yewoinshet founded Hope for Children, the first NGO in Ethiopia dedicated to the care of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Yewoinshet shared her personal story with us firsthand, as well as describing life for most women and girls in Ethiopia. In many communities, for example, girls are expected to wash male visitors’ feet, and are given undesirable bits of meat, while their brothers receive choicer pieces. Education for girls is widely seen as being pointless, since they will end up married often before they even reach puberty. Yewoinshet also described a deeply negative and shame-based culture around menstruation, and the devastating effect that it has on girls’ self-esteem and education (a sadly familiar story, which for our part we are seeking to address in various nations via our Pads4Girls program.)

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Have your kids brought information packets about periods home after a health education session at their school? What product samples were they given? Did they receive information about alternatives? What can we do to help you spread the LunaRevolution? Answer any of these questions to be eligible to win 1 Teen Booklet and Lunapads Pantyliner!

As many of you know I have 3 daughters. 2 have graduated from High School and one is in Grade 9. Together they have experienced a number of health education sessions offered through the public school health care programs. They have brought home a variety of information packages. Some very elaborate, some with next to nothing (much to my youngest’s dismay). But one thing was consistent every time; there was never mention of washable alternatives and it became a pet peeve of mine. A fair representation of what is available seemed to me to be something that should be happening but wasn’t.

One day I decided to take action and see what it would take to get washable alternative information into the school’s puberty education. To my surprise, it was pretty easy! All you need to do is contact your local health unit or school nurse and offer them this opportunity!

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Ashley’s LunaRevolution Video
Watch More LunaRevolution Videos >>

Ashley is the winner of The People’s Choice Award for our recent LunaRevolution Video Contest – Congrats, Ashley! She is also an avid maker of videos reviewing various feminine hygiene products and sharing her menstrual experience with her peers on her YouTube channel.  We are excited to share our recommendations for this Lunagal!

Name: Ashley

Age: 14

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?
I heard about reusables from YouTube videos!

Please describe your monthly needs:
My flow varies from month to month. Typically 2-3 days super light, 3 days average and 3 nights average to heavy. Also, light discharge throughout the month.

If you are currently using disposable products, which ones do you use, and for what needs?
Pantyliners for the first day or two. Regular tampons for about three days. For 3 nights thin overnight pads. And pantyliners throughout the rest of the month.

Why do you want to switch to reusable menstrual products?
I want to switch to reusables for several reasons! First, Lunapads are so cute! Secondly, they are discreet and quiet! Thirdly, I’d love a more comfortable option without rashes!!

Anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I am a teen girl who loves to make YouTube videos!

Our recommendations for this teen who is out in the world sharing about positive periods with her peers!

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As you may recall, back in May we were contacted by Helen McGuirk, a volunteer with the US Peace Corps working in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. Pads4Girls donated $344 to fund her project to teach young girls how to sew their own cloth pads.

The project has now begun! Here is an update from Helen on it’s progress:

Hello Lunapads readers! We’ve started our sanitary pads educational program this week here in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. I ended up picking a design similar to the Lunapads design, for convenience and ease of use for the girls. They are also very quick to make, about 1.5 hours for completion!

We started with a small group of ten girls from Omiro Mixed Secondary School. This school was priority number one due to the girl’s daily interactions with the opposite sex (some schools in our location are female only). The schools has 110 females enrolled, so we are planning on 4 moregroups of 25 girls before the term ends in August.
We discussed the high cost of disposable pads and then I explained about the donations made so that they could have the materials to make their own re-usable pads, they are very grateful. Here is an online album that I will update regularly with photos of the project: http://bit.ly/kncnQ4.

The girls were so excited to work on this project and began asking many questions relevant to the subject. More to come soon, as the project is quickly gaining momentum! -Helen