Menstrual Equity for Girls in Latin America

Thank you for your contributions to Days for Girls Menstrual Equity for Girls in Latin America project through GlobalGiving. With your generous support, we are advancing menstrual equity throughout Latin America.

Many people in New York City have loved ones who live in the Dominican Republic, so the Dominican Republic is dear to the hearts of many members of Days for Girls’ New York City NY Chapter. Last June, the Chapter’s Director of Community Outreach, Hilary, raised money to sponsor the distribution of 200 Kits by Proinfancia, the DfG Enterprise in the Dominican Republic. Wanting to be part of the Kit distribution, she made the trip with her two daughters, Paulina and Lucy. 

That three day trip meant so much to Paulina that she wanted to fundraise for 1,000 kits to be made by Proinfancia and fund all the training. She started her fundraiser in September and raised more than enough money for Kit sponsorships!

The New York City Chapter placed the order to Proinfancia for 1,180 Kits and the Enterprise has begun to distribute them alongside Days for Girls menstrual health education. The remainder of the Kits will be made and distributed in the coming months.

We are thrilled that more women and girls in Latin America will now have what they need to manage their menstruation with dignity. Thank you for your part in helping us turn periods into pathways.

Thank you for your contributions to Days for Girls Menstrual Equity for Girls in Latin America project through GlobalGiving. Using funds contributed by our generous donors, we are making a difference in the lives of women and girls in Latin America, including indigenous women.

Our Days for Girls Ecuador enterprise is led by an amazing entrepreneur named Andrea Espinoza. A trained environmental engineer, Andrea is passionate about protecting and preserving the environment and helping the women of her country, focusing her efforts particularly on indigeous women. Together with her grandmother, Andrea sews Days for Girls Kits and conducts menstrual health training sessions at each distribution. 

In September and early October 2022, Andrea and the Days for Girls team distributed 650 kits to women from different indigenous communities in the area. At a distribution in the Andes a woman shared, “So many blessings to the person who created these kits. There are 7 women in our family and we spend a lot of money just to throw away disposable products. These are beautiful and will save us a lot of money.” One of the enterprise members who helped with coordinating the distribution said to the women, “This is better for us, better for our rivers, better for the earth, and better for our country.” Another local leader commented, “We should shout for JOY that this is being offered to us! This is better for us, better for our rivers, better for the earth, and better for our country.” 

In the Amazon region, the reception was similar. One recipient commented, “These kits will be incredible for our women. We use our husbands’ old clothes when we bleed and then burn them because they are already falling apart. These will be so wonderful to be able to use for so many years.” 

At Days for Girls, we remain committed to empowering women in Latin America and elsewhere with the tools to handle their menstruation with dignity and with knowledge to help them make informed decisions for their own health and safety. Thank you for your role in helping us to turn periods into pathways.