A Mission of Love and Necessity:
Feminine Hygiene Kits for Haitians
Since 2018, many members and non-members of University Presbyterian Church in Tempe, AZ, have worked together to create feminine hygiene kits for distribution to impoverished girls and women through our mission partners in Haiti, Harmony Ministries. These kits include reusable feminine hygiene supplies that assist young girls and women to better manage their menstrual periods. There were formerly no sustainable or affordable solutions for feminine hygiene for these girls and women. They had to stay at home during their periods and thus were precluded from going to school or engaging in work outside the home. The kits are distributed through Harmony Ministries along with a program on women’s health education and health screenings. Harmony Ministries serves the poorest of the poor at four mission sites in Haiti—one in the poorest slums of Port-au-Prince and three rural communities that have no electricity or running water.
Pinnacle Peak Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, AZ, offered us our initial introduction to this project and instruction in making the kits. We set a lofty goal of creating ten kits—which we barely met! Our numbers have grown from 10, to 25, to 50, to 80, to 100 twice, and the goal for this coming year is 200 kits.
Each complete kit contains two waterproof holders for the flannel napkins (8 per kit) which snap around the panties, panties, soap, washcloth, information card, two Ziploc bags for washing the holders and napkins, all packed into a sewn drawstring bag. To meet this year’s goal, we will need to supply or make:
1600 two-ply flannel napkins
400 waterproof napkin holders
400 pairs of underwear
200 washcloths
200 bars of soap
400 large Ziploc bags
200 drawstring bags
We use donations of yards and yards of cotton fabric, money for flannel, washcloths, soap, serger thread, Ziploc bags, panties, and shipping costs. PW puts a portion of its mission budget toward this project. We continue to make wonderful use of a donated serger that has spread miles of thread. People have shared time and talent to prewash and press fabric; measure and cut cloth into various shapes and sizes; baste; sew; serge; mark bags with exact measurements; assemble and sew waterproof holders, bags, and napkins; cut and burn the ends of ribbons for the drawstring bags; and pack complete kits.
These are expensive to make and a lot of work. Yet, this is a labor of love. We shall continue!
This entire project has been filled with God moments! It takes the time, resources, and talents of so many people. Donated materials come from the most random sources. So many people have been involved. We started bringing sewing machines and sergers on campus to work together on the kits. But COVID-19 took away that option. People staying at home do need something meaningful to occupy their time. So, our group organizer devised an assembly line procedure. The total kit making has been broken down into discrete tasks. Each task involves only one or up to ten actions, comes with a complete set of instructions, and is meted out according to the skills of the worker. Once one person completed a job, it was picked up and delivered to the next person in line. Now that COVID restrictions have lifted, we are still using a “work at home” model. The church is now the place to pick up tasks and drop off finished work. Training is joyfully provided as interest is shown.
You would think that just women would be involved. Oh, no! We have had a man use a jigsaw to cut a template for the napkin holder pieces. One gentleman with Alzheimer’s has become a loyal helper—as long as instructions are clearly provided. A high school student seeking service hours measured, cut and burned the ends of grosgrain ribbon to be drawstrings for the bags. A seven year old boy working toward a Cub Scout ranking needed a mission project and connection with the church leader involved. His interview was eye-opening. He did a great job with measuring and cutting flannel and even machine sewed smaller flannel pieces to larger ones. Donations have come from as far away as Buffalo, NY. Our cotton scraps have moved on to become stuffing for dog beds in shelters and to a fabric recycling service that turns them into insulation. Our youth group has helped stuff all components into the bags.
Pastor Luc and Ronide Deratus of Harmony Ministries in Haiti spoke with us in April. We learned so much! Pastor Luc began sharing the history of how he felt his call, obtained seminary training, and returned to the poorest ghetto in Port-au-Prince to begin his ministry. What began with knocking on doors and getting two people to respond has grown into a main church that can seat over 2000 people along with three satellite churches in the rural areas. The ministry includes worship as well as a medical clinic, primary schooling at all four sites, food and water assistance, feminine hygiene kit distributions, and much more.
From both, we learned volumes about the situation in Haiti. It is appallingly oppressive. Gangs, kidnappings, and corruption are very real concerns. The lack of safety keeps most people out of work and with very little access to the staples of life. No one has money. Prices are exorbitant. The mood is somber. Pastor Luc has kept the ministry going through hard work, creative and resourceful thinking, the love of his people and total reliance on God. When asked if he saw any chance of improvement, his response was, “We must wait on God.”
Ronide spoke with humor about the feminine hygiene kits. The women LOVE them! The components are comfortable and do a better job than any other thing they have tried. The panties they receive with the kits have them rapturous with delight. Traditional supplies for one week are well beyond any female’s ability to pay. The reusable kits are a much better option. Distribution day for the feminine hygiene kits bring in more eager women than there are kits. It turns out that only UPC and a group in Scottsdale are making the kits for Harmony Ministries. Our continued participation in this activity is very much needed.
Major Takeaways:
God’s work is truly happening all over the earth.
God’s plan connects us into a kinship with some very extraordinary people.
God’s strength and omnipresence support people in dire situations.
Even in the worst of situations, humor can abound.
We could make 1000 feminine hygiene kits per year and maybe begin to meet the need in Haiti.
Pastor Luc and Ronide are fabulous people—and people of God.
Return to Haiti Task Force Update: https://pclawrenceville.org/haiti-task-force…date-august-2023/