The Dalitso Project
The Ulemu Project
Ulemu means 'Dignity' in Chichewa, the most commonly spoken language in Malawi.
With the average wage for uneducated Malawians being less than £18 per month and sanitary products costing £2-3 pounds per pack to buy, young girls in the village cannot afford to buy sanitary products each month. This often means that the girls skip school for several days each month and often fall significantly behind in their academic abilities.
Our innovative team however, have come up with a design of reusable sanitary pads which can be made by sewing several layers of material together, including a plastic layer. These are small and discreet and can be attached to pants via small poppers which are attached through the material.
These packs have been given out to all of our young girls and staff and many women in the community. It has now evolved into a small business for our girls who have begun selling packs which include pants, soap and Ulemu sanitary pads in drawstring bags. These have gone down well in the surrounding community as both a cheap and of course an eco friendly way to cope with the difficulties around monthly periods.
With the average wage for uneducated Malawians being less than £18 per month and sanitary products costing £2-3 pounds per pack to buy, young girls in the village cannot afford to buy sanitary products each month. This often means that the girls skip school for several days each month and often fall significantly behind in their academic abilities.
Our innovative team however, have come up with a design of reusable sanitary pads which can be made by sewing several layers of material together, including a plastic layer. These are small and discreet and can be attached to pants via small poppers which are attached through the material.
These packs have been given out to all of our young girls and staff and many women in the community. It has now evolved into a small business for our girls who have begun selling packs which include pants, soap and Ulemu sanitary pads in drawstring bags. These have gone down well in the surrounding community as both a cheap and of course an eco friendly way to cope with the difficulties around monthly periods.
To keep this project going we do a yearly appeal for pants and soap to put into the Ulemu packs. This appeal runs for the month of January-because 'January is pants'!
If you want to donate to this project or have any ideas to take it forward, please do get in touch. We would be happy to take donations at any time!
If you want to donate to this project or have any ideas to take it forward, please do get in touch. We would be happy to take donations at any time!