Empowering HIV/AIDS orphaned children in Africa to a self sustainable future

Only LOVE Prevails
-CK
LOVE conquers all
-TWK
Being LOVED deeply by someone gives you strength, while LOVING someone deeply gives you courage
- LauTzu
LOVE is patient. LOVE is kind. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
- Holy Bible
Where there is LOVE, there is life
- Mahatma Gandhi
I have decided to stick to LOVE. Hate is too great a burden to bear
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Be the reason someone feels LOVED and believes in the goodness in people
- Roy T. Bennett
LOVE everyone, everywhere
- TWK
LOVE doesn’t just sit there like a stone. it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
- Ursula K. Le Guin
And in the end, the LOVE you take is equal to the LOVE you make
- The Beatles
I LOVE you like a fish LOVES water
- Martha
When the power of LOVE overcomes the LOVE of power, the world will know peace
- Jimi Hendrix
One LOVE, one heart, one destiny
-- Bob Marley
Who, being Loved, is poor?
- Oscar Wilde
“How do you spell LOVE” asked Piglet. “You don’t spell LOVE, you feel it”, answered Pooh.
-
Moving beyond a civilization of greed, to a civilization of LOVE
- TWK
LOVE cannot remain by itself - it has no meaning. LOVE has to be put into action, and that action is service.
- Mother Teresa
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
- Mark Twain
Smile, breathe and go slowly.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses.
- Chinese Proverb
'What day is it?' 'It's today,' squeaked Piglet. 'My favorite day,' said Pooh.
- A.A. Milne

Pads for Girls

Orphaned teen girls in Uganda have shared with us that the number one issue they and their contemporaries need help with is finding effective, hygienic and affordable ways to manage their periods so that they are not forced to miss school for a week every month.
When coupled with all the other reasons a girl, particularly an orphaned girl, may miss school or have greatly reduced study time, due to chores and responsibilities in a caregiver’s home, it can add up to a lot of time that these teens are not able to participate in or concentrate on their education.
Beginning with a pattern and paper, the “Pads for Girls” students learn to trace, cut with sewing scissors, and stitch together, by hand, a pad and liner made of paper.
The girls are introduced to the treadle (foot powered) sewing machine and begin to acquire the coordination required to “treadle” and stitch at the same time.. first straight lines, then curvy ones, on paper.. then, fabric..
Enter, our Pads for Girls project.
Store bought disposable pads are costly, not easily available in many areas, and can be a problem to dispose of. LITA knows there are some great manufacturers of re-useable pads, some even with programs designed for an NGO like us, to sponsor/purchase pre-made ‘pad kits’ for give away to girls such as the teens mentioned above.
When LITA met with our first group of 10 girls looking for help with finding solutions, we thought we could use the opportunity to assist the girls with their immediate needs and offer them an opportunity to acquire a lifeskill – sewing/tailoring – along with a healthy, positive dose of self determination and esteem.. all of which could inform and empower them for life.
A program was designed and a pattern chosen with the girl’s input and feedback. LITA donors help to pay a sewing teacher in the community, and to purchase locally treadle sewing machines, needles, thread, scissors, buttons, and 3 types of fabric.. soft flannel, thick absorbent cotton, and ‘breathable’ plastic.
As the photos describe, step by step the girls learn, collectively and individually, how to sew the pads and liners. Within a few weeks each girl had made several pad sets for herself – enough to start off the new school year with – and acquired a new sense of confidence, on a few levels. And, there has been a bonus beneficial component of the project discovered that we had not anticipated. Within the sewing circle, informative and educational discussions take place on reproduction, reproductive health, STD’s, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, gender issues and children’s, girl’s and women’s rights.
The girls are introduced to the treadle (foot powered) sewing machine and begin to acquire the coordination required to “treadle” and stitch at the same time.. first straight lines, then curvy ones, on paper.. then, fabric..
We look forward to expanding this project and reaching several other groups of orphaned teen girls in neighboring communities. Thank you for your interest and support for LITA’s Pads for Girls project assisting orphaned teen girls to a self-sustainable future.
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