SEATTLE-AFRICAN SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE
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Mission Statement
Seattle Limbe Sister City Association is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network whose mission is to create and strengthen partnerships between Seattle and Limbe, Cameroon. Our ultimate goal is to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. We have a 5 year commitment to create 1,500 feminine care kits PER YEAR to take on our official Seattle Limbe Sister City trip to Cameroon, help establish spinoffs that will expand our multi-cultural community and contribute kits to our work, train women in Cameroon to create the feminine care kits
About This Cause
Why This Project? Most girls in developing countries do not have access to feminine care supplies during their menses. Girls miss a month or more of school each year because of lack of access to these supplies. Girls are often isolated from others in their families or communities and use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, cornhusks... anything to try to stay in school. These alternatives often lead to embarrassment and painful infections. Even worse, men often exploit girls in exchange for money for products. Menstruating girls who are not in school are often considered "eligible" for marriage regardless of age, which forces early marriages, thereby eliminating their chances for education. This happens to women in impoverished communities all over the world. And it turns out that this issue is one of the keys to social change in developing countries and WE can help change this! Seattle Limbe Sister City Association collaborates with many organizations in the Seattle community to build a cross-cultural community of people from throughout the Pacific NW, intentionally dismantling artificial barriers of race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, etc. For 3 years, more than 200 women, men and children from all walks of life and all levels of society gather on the 4th Saturdays of each month at First African Methodist Episcopal Church, once per month at Beth Shalom Congregation and Amadiyyah Muslim Community to create reusable fabric feminine care kits designed by DAYS FOR GIRLS INTERNATIONAL. With proper care, the kits last up to 3 years. We call ourselves the Seattle Limbe Sewing Circle. Individual donors purchase or donate fabric and contribute money to help purchase needed supplies to create the kits here, ship the kits to Cameroon, and to purchase supplies not available in Cameroon when we train Cameroonian women to create the kits in country. Cameroonian women either distribute kits at no cost to school girls or sell them at reasonable prices to create micro-industries. The reusable fabric kits require access to clean water. Where there is no potable water, we work with local Rotary Clubs to provide clean water sources (wells or tanks).