Meskerem

Educational platform that seeks to teach young Ethiopian girls and women how to make their own reusable, biodegradable sanitary pads.

THE PROBLEM

In Ethiopia, one in ten girls consistently misses classes due to the lack of access to sanitary pads. According to a John Hopkins study, 53% of women cloth instead of disposable sanitary pads, but they don’t use standard and sanitized materials which exposes them to health issues like cervical infections.

THE SOLUTION

MESKEREM is an educational platform that seeks to teach young girls and women how to make their own reusable, biodegradable sanitary pads. Our Learn to Teach, motto encourages the girls to use the knowledge they gained and share for the benefit of others in need.

HOW IT WORKS

Supervisors recruited from our partner SAFELIGHT, a nonprofit organization in Ethiopia, will lead our afterschool program in a government school. Girls will be provided with a step by step instructional brochure to make the pads, three types of fabric materials, and our DIY videos.

USE OF FUNDS

An investment of funds will cover fabric costs, a sewing machine, supervisor stipends, and our brochures. This can help us successfully change the lives of 1000 girls, equipping them with three menstrual pads each.

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Team

Kalkidan Antonios ’21 (International Affairs, Kinesiology minor)
Amerti Gari ’21 (Business Administration)

We are two young women from Ethiopia who are seeking to make period poverty history in Ethiopia with the power of education. We have a dream to give back to the community and to the place we call home. Meskerem can teach a girl how to make her own reusable sanitary pads and equip her with the tools she needs to teach her sisters and friends. We believe that Meskerem can create a ripple effect because one girl has the potential to teach many others if she is given the right information and knowledge to fulfill her destiny.

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Gordon College is one of the nation's premier Christian colleges and located just north of Boston. We offer students extraordinary access to leading-edge opportunities for intellectual, professional, and leadership development to address the increasingly complex challenges of a global society. Gordon stands apart from other outstanding institutions in New England by combining an exceptional education with an informed Christian faith.