DIGNITY PERIOD INC
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Mission Statement
Dignity Period is a not-for-profit public charity that helps keep girls in school by providing them with menstrual hygiene education and reusable menstrual pads. The Menstrual Dignity Project in Ethiopia is a partnership between Dignity Period, Mekelle University, and the Mariam Seba Sanitary Products Factory. We want dignity for the girls of Ethiopia, St. Louis and beyond period.
About This Cause
Imagine that you are an adolescent Ethiopian girl in a rural area who loves school and wants to make a contribution to your society--but you are too poor to afford menstrual hygiene products---or even to afford underwear. What would trying to stay in school be like after you started having menstrual periods? This scenario is beyond belief for American girls and women, yet it is a common reality for the girls and women of Ethiopia. 85% of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas and most girls have to cope with menstrual hygiene using home-made pads or old clothing. The biology of menstruation is poorly understood by the population and one menstrual hygiene accident in a schoolroom can end a girl's education--all because of her natural female biology. Dignity Period is a not-for-profit public charity, tax-exempt under section 501c3 of the US Internal Revenue Code. The charity was founded in 2014 when Dr. Lewis Wall and his wife Helen were working in Ethiopia on a Fulbright Scholarship to the College of Health Sciences at Mekelle University in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray. They became aware of the menstrual hygiene problem and how it was holding back the education of Ethiopian girls, and they also met a remarkable Ethiopian woman named Freweini Mebrahtu, who had experienced these problems herself as a girl and who resolved to do something about it. Freweini was education in the United States and worked there for over 10 years before returning home. When she returned to Ethiopia, she observed that nothing had changed. She was indignant--girls shouldn't have to live like this. So she designed and patented a locally-produced, environmentally-friendly, low-cost, reusable menstrual pad. She managed to get a loan (unusual for an Ethiopian woman) and built the Mariam Seba Sanitary Products Factory to produce them. The menstrual hygiene kits include two pair of underwear (many rural Ethiopian girls are so poor that they don't even have underwear) and four reusable pads, which last up to 18 months. Dignity Period purchases the pads--at cost--from the Mariam Seba Factory and through their partnership with Mekelle University, they distribute pads and menstrual hygiene education pamphlets free of charge in schools in Ethiopia. In addition to distributing pads and pamphlets to girls, they also distribute educational materials about menstruation and menstrual hygiene to boys in school and to parents. The biology of menstruation is poorly understood, particularly in rural areas. Dignity Period is carrying out research on menstrual beliefs, attitudes and practices in Tigray to understand the cultural context in which menstruation takes place. They are currently developing a plan to distribute pads and menstrual hygiene literature to the 100 poorest schools in Tigray, as well as to provide menstrual hygiene products to all of the neediest female students at the three universities in the Tigray region: Mekelle University, Axum University, and the University of Adigrat. Dignity Period hopes to expand this program throughout Ethiopia, and eventually to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where this need is great. Menstruation is a part of normal female human reproductive biology. No girl should have to drop out of school for lack of adequate menstrual hygiene. Additional information can be found on the Dignity Period website: www.dignityperiod.org