Powering Education with Ingenuity: Sarah M. Teaches Girls in Bolivia How to Make Reusable Menstrual Pads to Stay in School

Around the world, millions of girls in developing countries and rural areas don’t have access to sanitary menstrual pads, so for her Gold Award project, Sarah M. from Girl Scouts Central Texas, decided to do something about it.
Traveling to rural Bolivia, she taught low-income families how to sew repurposed clothing, including fabric from unusable umbrellas, to create washable sanitary pads they can afford.
Girls in developing countries have been missing 20 percent of the school year or even dropping out because they can’t access sanitary menstrual pads. Thanks to Sarah, these statistics will change.
By involving the family and community, she’s transforming societal taboos into ongoing practical solutions, and spreading much-needed awareness for solving this global issue.
Q: Why did you choose this topic for your Gold Award Project?
A: There is a global issue
of girls lacking the menstrual resources needed to regularly attend
school during their periods. In my local community, I have encountered
the unapparent need for of menstrual pads for some girls in my high
school. The high cost of menstrual pads forces the girls to resort to
other means. In low-income families, menstrual pads are a luxury often
overlooked. Girls go without.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced in Gold Award
Project?
A: I
decided to organize workshops in a non-English speaking country, and
despite my Hispanic background and experience with Spanish, in order
to effectively teach my workshops, I needed to have a strong sense of
self. Without my cemented purpose of enabling girls and genuine
commitment to taking on this challenge of helping others by exposing
myself to their day-to-day lives, the impact of my Gold Award project
would not have been as strong.
An example of this was when I held workshops at the center for homeless teen mothers in Santa Cruz. I was further inspired by their strength when they expressed their desire to continue making washable menstrual pads for other homeless girls in Santa Cruz. Their selflessness and transparent nature taught me that you need a strong sense of self, not only for yourself but for those around you. You have the ability to enact positive change in the lives of others but you need to believe you can.
Q: What has been the impact of your project and how is it
sustainable?
A: To
individuals who may view real-life problems and their solutions as out
of reach, my project showed them how obtainable a solution may be,
given community support and involvement. It brought the rural
communities together to collectively empower the girls in the
community and solve the issue that has decreased female student school
attendance around the world.
The communities impacted have continued access to sewing machines that I donated for making washable pads, as well as the knowledge of where to purchase materials and how to repurpose fabric. I am interested in continuing my project as a non-profit in the future and hope to hold additional workshops in Bolivia and expand to other locations around the world.
Q: What have you learned from working on this project?
A: I have learned not to
underestimate the impact of one individual and to allow myself to be
inspired by others. Moving forward, I can already see—and will
continue seeing— the positive impact of my project on my leadership
development and growth as an individual.
Q: How has being a Girl Scout helped you?
A: I recognize the true value of the
Girl Scout experience and the impact it has had in me; Girl Scouts has
helped develop the person I needed to be to follow through on my
journey to make a difference.