By Nora Tobin | Executive Director, Self-Help International
"Having the Days for Girls kits saves us money," Mariatu said.
"Yes," Windolina chimed in, "I used to have to use my lunch money to buy pads. Now I don't need to anymore."
Then Kadija and Fridaus and Salamatu and one girl after the next stood up and repeated the same thing: now that they have reusable cloth pads, they get to eat lunch every day -- even when they have their periods.
. . .
Last September, we shared with you the challenges that girls face when they hit puberty, detailed our plans to launch a Teen Girls Club in Ghana, and asked for your support to help make those plans a reality - and you responded! I'm pleased to report that thanks to your generous financial support, we've made great progress at helping the girls better face those challenges over the past six months, including:
Three weeks ago, I got to visit the village of Timeabu with our local project leaders to listen and learn how things were going from the girls in the Teens Club. After an opening dance, Mariatu and Windolina and all their friends stood up in front of our Self-Help staff and volunteers, their mothers, their teachers, and even the local village chief and echoed the same sentiment: the girls love the feminine hygiene kits, and their mothers are clamoring to have kits for themselves too! More than that: they love the Teen Girls Club, and yes, their mothers - and the chief - do too.
"The Teens Club is helping me stay in school so I can be a lawyer one day!" Janet shared. "And it will help me become a bank manager," Gifty followed. Other girls agreed that it will help them achieve their dreams of becoming nurses, teachers, soldiers, and respectable mothers.
"The girls in this community are more respectful of their elders now," Ayishetu shared. "Now, when I am carrying produce back from the farm, the ones in the Teens Club stop me and carry the load for me...I don't even have daughters, but I came to testify that the club is good, and is should stay!"
We couldn't agree more, and we need your help to continue serving the girls. We started the club in September as a pilot project, and now after hearing from mothers, teachers, the chief, and the girls themselves, it's clear that the club is helping the girls not only stay in school, but also develop life skills to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
Our friends at GlobalGiving have invited us to compete for an estimated $10,000 more in funding through their newly launched Girl Fund. Joining the Girl Fund would allow us to continue supporting the Teen Girls Club by forming study groups, offering contests designed to enhance their reading and critical thinking skills, and take them on college visits so they can better envision and achieve the future of their dreams!
To win the funds, our new project Stop Teen Girls in Ghana from Missing School needs to be one of the top four projects with the most number of donors by March 15th. A big thank you to the more than 100 people who have already made a gift to keep us in the running! As of publishing time, we're currently in 4th place and we need your help to stay in the top four to join the Girl Fund. Check the leaderboard here for our current standing.
Here's how you can help:
Thank you in advance for all you have done and continue to do to empower women and girls around the world!
PS: Stay tuned for an update next week on the results of the contest and the implementation of our sustainability plan.
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