At the end of October, seventeen women arrived at Dilton Marsh Memorial Hall equipped with sewing machines and scissors ready to help at Sewing Day number three – an event organised by the Holy Trinity Church and Eco Church team to make reusable sanitary pads to support The Pachamama Project.
Started in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown by Bristol University student, Ella Lambert, The Pachamama Project seeks to end period poverty through community action.
The charity is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation of volunteers who have teamed up to craft reusable sanitary pads for refugees around the world who lack the availability and access to sanitary products.
Period poverty is an issue faced by many women across globe, and is especially prevalent in refugees who have been torn from their homes. This lack of access leads to many resorting to using scraps of tissue or even socks in place of sanitary products which can lead to nasty infections.
Inspired by Ella's work, the women from the Holy Trinity church held their first sewing day in October 2021, and sent a total of 80 pads to the charity. Months later in April of this year, the group answered another urgent request for pads to go to the now war-torn Ukraine by sending a further 100 pads to the charity to join the 16,000 that were required.
In their latest meeting, the group once again put in more hard work to produce a further 125 pads that this time may make their way to Pakistan where recent flooding has created demand. The 125 pads are enough to take 15 women out of period poverty, and will go a long way to ensuring that their already difficult situations do not have to be made worse.
For those who have been inspired to help make pads but are unable to attend the sewing days, kits and materials have been put together to be sewn at home. If you're interested in getting involved and making a real difference the lives of women in period poverty, contact Lynne by email at: office@whtministry.org.uk.