Menstrual Health Equity for Women in Lebanon

World Refugee Day is June 20th and we are getting ready by featuring a new video filmed and produced by Tania Safi.  Thanks to your support, this is not a story about despair or destruction but rather one of hope and resilience.

The UN Refugee Agency, shares that we are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record, with a reported 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. Of those, 25.4 million are refugees and 40 million are internally displaced people (IDPs).

Award winning video journalist and filmmaker Tania Safi knows all too well these dire statistics and could no longer sit back and read articles that only showed refugees as victims. She knew that there were too many untold stories about the incredible resilience and strength of refugee women, so she decided to sell everything she owned and move to Lebanon to document stories about women and organizations who are making a difference.  

Upon arrival, Tania spent two days with Days for Girls’ local leaders learning about DfG’s response to the refugee crisis and participated in several Kit distributions that are all possible because of your donations.

The distributions were conducted by DfG Lebanon Country Director, Khayrieh Al Assaad who told Tania that most refugees could not afford pads because they needed to spend what little money they had on food and medicine. As a result, they used old white cloths or old t-shirts instead. This created a problem since they are too shy to wash and hang them out to dry.

Tania also came to understand the importance of education and why this is a core program for DfG distributions. She saw first hand the knowledge the women and girls gained about their own bodies during DfG education sessions.

“I believe we're all capable of helping change the world or to at least change it for one person, little by little, so why not? It's all about priorities and perspective. The world needs us today, not tomorrow.” --Tania Safi

Check out Tania’s amazing video Turning Periods into Pathways.

Links:

• Turning Periods into Pathways

Although the tides may be turning on the fighting in Syria, the question of returning home for Syrian refugees in neither certain nor simple. The crisis in Syria continues with significant gaps in the ability to meet basic needs for millions. For our refugee partners in Lebanon, there is still much work to be done to make improved health and hygiene a reality in the camps and settlements of Akkar district. With your support, we were able to make tremendous strides in 2018 with the establishment of 3 locally run DfG Enterprises and provision of DfG Kits and women’s health education to thousands.

The early part of 2019 has been dedicated to strategic planning and supply chain mapping to ensure that we can maximize the potential impact from our local partners. Khayrieh, our Program Manager in Lebanon, participated in an intensive workshop in January to learn best practices from DfG leaders in other parts of the world. Since returning home, she has been exploring partnerships that will allow us to reach more girls and women, and supporting local Enterprise partners to achieve the best quality possible.

The journey ahead is still difficult for many Syrian girls and women, but solutions for their menstrual cycle shouldn’t be. With the commitment of our Global Giving family, we can reduce the burden of menstrual health and open doorways to new opportunities for girls and women. Thank you for walking this path with us!