First Lutheran volunteers make hygiene products for Malawi girls

Karen Nave of Havre's First Lutheran Church is working with a group of ladies to put together feminine hygiene product kits so girls in developing countries don't have to miss out on a week of life every month.

Nave said that girls in some impoverished countries miss an entire week of school because they don't have the proper hygiene products to use during monthly menstruation.

"When you don't have running water at school and you have one outhouse, it's dicey to come to school," she said.

The hygiene kits aim to remedy the problem.

"It's to extend the dignity of girls so they can stay in school," Nave said.  

In June she will be going to the southeastern African country of Malawi, where she hopes to distribute the hygiene products.

The kits include a hand-knit bag with two large resealable plastic bags, two pairs of underwear, a dark-colored wash rag, a bar of soap, two cotton shields - each with water-resistant cloths inside - eight flannel liners, and picture instructions.

The liners, shields and bags are put together by a small group of ladies at the church who have, since January, been meeting every Monday and Wednesday to knit and assemble the kits. Sometimes two ladies can make it, other times more, Nave said, adding that everyone works when they can, some working on the kits at home.

Even the large plastic bags, Nave said, are intentionally purposeful, as they can be used as a mini-washing machine by simply putting the liners and shields in, adding water and soap, zipping and shaking to wash.

The project was the idea of a friend from Harlem, Nave said. The friend, Ethel Siemens, told the ladies at First Lutheran about the nonprofit Days for Girls last year.

The mission for Days for Girls is to create "a more free, dignified and educated world through providing lasting access to feminine hygiene solutions and health education. The vision of Days for Girls is every girl and every woman with ready access to feminine hygiene by 2022," the website for the nonprofit says.