How Sanitary pads saved Africa
Have you seen the adds? I've meant to post on this since I got a coupon with some kind of add about women in Africa needing sanitary pads to get an education. It was a WTF moment for me. Now I see the TV adds, and at least I get what they are talking about. Apparently, according to the commercial, girls are not allowed to go to school or cant go to school while they have their period. Then in walks the magic disposable sanitary pad, and vwala, the girls are saved. Somehow I think African girls have a lot more to worry about than disposable pads. That aside, I have to wonder what these women in Africa have been doing for the past hundred years about their periods? I kind of figure they did what my grandmother and gr. grandmother did, use cloth. Sure, its not 'as good' at stopping leaks, you probably have to change them more often, but with today's modern materials, I bet you can make a damn good pad that is washable. Greendaily LJ had a site http://www.goddesspads.com/ that has a lot of options, including diva cups and stuff you never even hear about in the US. Over here, it's all disposable, sanitary, and all that. When I had my son 11 years ago, you could get a diaper service that used cloth diapers. They shut down about a year later. My neighbor used them for a while, I think until they closed. Too bad they didn't last for the 'green' revolution. I bet they would be doing a better business now.
Anyway, back to pads. Wouldn't it be better to show women how to make their own pads (they probably know this already) or give them Diva cups, or give them better materials to make the pads, rather than just giving them truckloads of disposable pads that have a one use and then become trash? Its that old Bible adage, give a woman a pad and she's dry for a day, teach her how to make a pad, and she is dry till she hits menopause.
I saw a show on how much of the clothes we donate to Good Will and Salvation army end up in Africa, which has destroyed their once thriving cloth and clothing manufacturing. Now they are people waiting for our handouts. Sometimes the Great White man just does the wrong thing, but with good intentions.
Perhaps what they really need is irrigation to wash with. Then they could wash pads and drink and water crops. I don't know, I just think it's a big corporation looking for a new market.