On Saturday afternoon, the women from the St Patrick’s and St Vincent’s churches Days for Girls project hosted a high tea at Fatima Hall, fundraising for materials to create more sanitary kits for girls in Dili, Timor Leste.
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The kits, which include reusable sanitary napkins and a wash bag enable girls without access to hygiene products to attend school or work while they are menstruating.
Former Lithgow police officer, Libby Bleakley, who runs a PCYC in Dili attended the high tea. A speech on the lives of women and girls in Timor Leste Libby gave at a Portland Social Justice Group dinner in 2015 got the project started.
So far the group of around twenty women, associated with St Vincent’s and St Patrick’s churches, have sent 700 kits to the Dili PCYC since 2015, which then get distributed to girls.
“Also in our three shipments we have sent 475 beanies, endless baby clothes, wraps and booties. Hundreds of the small toiletries that you getin motels, two sewing machines and two overlockers and sewing supplies for the girls to make their own kits,” Joan Applin said.
“We have in the works another 200 kits to go to Dili early next year.”
The high tea managed to raise over $2000 for the project.
“We are absolutely thrilled to bits with how it went,” Ms Applin said.
- You can donate material for the project at St Patrick’s Presbytery or call Joan Applin on 0411 025 956.
