Eliza Galbraith, daughter of Mark and Amber Galbraith, Maryville, helped with a project for Haitian women this summer at Mozingo Lake.
Youth from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped with a project for women in Haiti this summer.
In June, 150 girls and women gathered at Mozingo Lake for the church’s annual girls camp event. Jola Casey, founder of Haitian Women’s Outreach, Madison, KS, shared stories and pictures of her experiences in Haiti with camp attendees.
“Women are oppressed by their culture in Haiti,” Casey said. “They do all the work in the family. It is a difficult culture for women and teenage girls. One thing all women all over the world have in common is menstruation.”
However, not all women have access to menstrual hygeine materials.
Such is the case with women in Haiti. Without sanitation products, women use corn husks or other organic materials for protection. Some women sit on buckets until the bleeding stops.
As a youth minister for the Presbyterian Church, Casey saw a need while on her first youth ministry trip to Haiti and decided to help.
“God inspired me and gave me passion for the women there,” she said.
When she returned stateside, Casey found a pattern for reusable, washable sanitary napkins that can be sewn and given to the women and girls of Haiti.
Haitian Women’s Outreach founder, Jola Casey, visited Maryville to assist with a project for Haitian women.
Her second trip was organized for this purpose. As her ministry group travelled to different locations, they held meetings and taught women. Every female received a sanitation kit and gospel message.
During the LDS camp, Casey helped campers cut and pin almost 2,000 sanitary napkins. They were sent to local LDS congregations to be sewn and assembled.
Kits include five pairs of underwear, 10 flannel napkins, six safety pins and an inspirational message all in a drawstring bag.
While the napkins are reusable, they only last about one year so there is always a need for more. In addition, older women have found the napkins useful for incontinence. Casey said the napkins give females of all ages confidence to live normal lives.
Project organizers originally planned to make 200 napkins for Haitian Women’s Outreach. However, a church member volunteered to make 500 drawstring bags with her own materials.
This inspired organizers to expand the service project to fill the 500 bags. The Missouri Star Quilt Company, Hamilton, donated all the flannel material and cotton batting for the napkins.
In order to complete the kits, youth leaders still need 2,500 pairs of underwear in women’s small and medium, and youth large and extra-large sizes.
For more information, email rplawson@hotmail.com.
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