My Nonprofit Reviews

A team from the Mornington Peninsula, Vic, Australia has been visiting and supporting orphanages and poverty stricken areas in Myanmar (Burma) for the last 7 years. In 2013 one of our team overheard a lady buying material, talk about DfG and so asked her about the concept. We realized this would be something that would transform the lives of the girls we had contact with in Myanmar and they wouldn't miss school days. The website had videos and all the info needed to make these feminine hygiene kits and so we were keen to get started. I am not a sewer at all but felt to gather people to get involved, whether it be for donating the soap, face washers etc or cutting out or sewing, each person was significant.
Since then we have been able to spread the word and are now organizing cut out and sewing days. Having only just heard about DfG we were only able to make 50 kits on our last visit but it was so exciting seeing the look on the girls faces as we explained them. As we only have a male Burmese interpreter over there, 2 of us showed the girls through actions not words what the kit was all about. This made it fun and partly demystified the stigma of periods being seen as shameful. We were amazed how this brought about a deeper relationship with these girls and a sense of sisterhood.
We also bought some of the orphanages a sewing machine and items such as material, cotton scissors etc so they could make their own. Unfortunately we can't send anything in the post to Myanmar from Australia so need to physically take the kits and PUL material with us when we go.
Whilst we were in Myanmar we also visited an Australian lady who has a program where kids who live on the street come in and are taught sewing and furniture restoration. We were able to give her a sample kit and patterns also. From there a guy she knows donated $3000 specifically towards expenses for the DfG kits to be made when he heard about the concept.
The DfG concept is amazing and we are hoping to take a minimum of 250 kits in 2015.
We would love to hear from anyone else who has taken kits to Myanmar.

More Feedback