Frédérique and her very first handmade pad!
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My name is Frédérique. I am a licensed practical nurse (LPN) and am currently going to college to become a registered nurse. I have created a project called Pads for Power. My project includes collecting disposable feminine hygiene products and donating them to homeless shelters in Vancouver. It also includes making homemade reusable pads to be sent to developing countries where many women and girls living in rural settings do not have access to feminine hygiene products. Consequently, they must stay at home and miss up to a week of work or school every single month. These contributions mean that these girls and women, both near and far, will have the freedom to go to school or work every day and, in turn, the power to achieve greater success in life.
This is the story of how this project came about:
I was given an immense amount of pads and tampons from a post-menopausal friend a few months back. I wondered what to do with all of them since I already had my own little supply and didn’t feel the need to be “ready” years in advance. I had the idea of giving them to a friend from school who would be traveling to Tanzania, Africa. She was going to help with the creation of medical and education systems in rural areas. I knew there was a great need for feminine hygiene products in these areas. Unfortunately, she had no extra space for all my pads and tampons and I had to keep them all.
Soon after, I started a self-development class (in leadership) in which one must create a community project. That is when I decided to finally do something with all those pads. I would find a way to get them to women who needed them. I knew I could increase the benefits of my project by gathering feminine hygiene products from other women and, also, creating homemade reusable pads (a more eco-friendly option).
I had read about Lunapads International in a magazine and briefly visited their site and decided to give them a call to inquire about their Pads4Girls project and their shipping process. Not only did they explain the process but they even said they would help me by sending the reusable pads I created to organizations working in foreign countries! I was delighted to hear this and have been working hard at collecting and making pads since. So far I have collected and donated just over 400 disposable pads and tampons to a local shelter but my goal is to reach and help as many women as possible both near and far.
Please send an email to padsforpower@hotmail.com if you are interested in contributing disposable feminine hygiene products, materials to make reusable pads, or would like to help sew the pads (see the video on Lunapads.com’s donate pads page). Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.
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We purchased 10 Pads4Girls Kits through Lunapads. Rather than give traditional loot bags at her birthday party, we donated these meaningful kits. All the children and their families were told that they donated pads for girls in less privileged communities in the world. These girls would likely miss school without such necessities. Imagine giving a washable, reusable pad to a girl that has never had such a “luxury!”
