There are so many reasons that I love dōTERRA, but if I start talking about that here, I will never get to the point of this blog. I want to focus on the charitable side of dōTERRA, specifically their partnership with Days for Girls.
The background that I think you should know is that dōTERRA has always been charitable from the outset. Initially this started with donating to charities, fundraisers and community projects, but that has exponentially grown into the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation. This is a non-for-profit which dōTERRA generously covers all overhead and administrative costs, as well as donating all proceeds from the sale of Rose Oil Lotion and dōTERRA Hope Touch. Donations are also taken with 100 percent of these donations going to those receiving aid.
Healing Hands partners with organisations and dōTERRA Wellness Advocates to serve communities in need. One of these organisations is Days For Girls, which was founded by Celeste Mergens in 2008. Days For Girls came about while Celeste was assisting at an Orphanage in Kenya. She asked the question about what the girls do for feminine hygiene and was told that they don’t do anything, just wait in their rooms - the girls were sitting on cardboard for several days each month, often going without food unless someone would bring it to them. Celeste immediately considered disposable pads but these aren’t viable (without appropriate disposal) or sustainable. A washable, long-lasting pad was the solution to changing the lives of these girls.
Unfortunately, the situation at the orphanage wasn’t a once off. In fact, there are girls and women all around the world who resort to using rags, mattress stuffing, leaves, feathers and even cow dung to manage their menstruation. Days for Girls provides a safe, beautiful, washable, and long-lasting alternative that these girls can rely on month after month. It doesn’t stop there with vital health education being provided also.
Attending the dōTERRA Australia/New Zealand Convention this year was a Days For Girls Chapter and by paying a small fee to cover the cost of the materials, we were able to book a time to put together a kit. The Days For Girls Kit consisted of: shields and liners, underwear, soap and washcloth, zip-lock bags (for washing and storing), a menstrual chart & pictorial instruction, all together in a drawstring bag. This kit lasts up to three years and replaces 360+ disposable pads.
The bags are set out so specifically to ensure they are packed in the most economical way for freighting and so that each kit is exactly the same for teaching the girls. It was amazing to be able to participate, knowing the kit that I was putting together in Sydney was going to make an enormous difference to a girl overseas.
It is so much more than giving these girls dignity and a hygienic option. A lot of girls are forced to stay away from school during their periods because they don’t have sufficient sanitary protection or are shamed for having their period. Doing some rough maths, each girl misses 5 days of school per month - that is 180 days over 3 years. That makes a huge difference to the education the girl receives.
As a woman living in Australia, I took having access to hygienic products and acceptance of women’s menstrual cycles for granted. I can’t imagine being isolated and made to sleep outside during my period, or having to put leaves in my underwear, or battling infection from poor hygiene. Ladies, consider this against your own experiences. Men (I hope some of you have read this far), consider if this was the experience your girlfriend, wife, mother, aunt, sister or daughter had to go through.
It is important work that Days For Girls does, and I encourage you to donate if you can. If you like to sew, you might even be able to find a local chapter to join. More information can be found at Days For Girls Australia or Days For Girls International.
I have included this video that I first saw during the dōTERRA Convention. I’d encourage you to watch it to hear more about the girls that Days For Girls is helping.