Days for Girls

Ms COOK (Fisher) (15:15): I spoke two weeks ago in this place about the fabulous work of Essentials 4 Women SA in supporting women and girls in the need to maintain dignity and wellbeing. Today, I would like to inform the house about a global move to support the dignity and wellbeing of women and girls now gaining momentum in my own backyard. Due to inadequate menstrual hygiene solutions and management, girls worldwide suffer indignity, infection and exploitation while trying to stay in school. Women also face the same barriers to stay at work. In fact, girls can lose up to two months of school every year.

This normal biological function should not stand in the way of a girl's right to an education or a woman's right to provide for her family. In developed nations such as Australia, the barriers to dignity for women and girls menstruating are generally a consequence of personal economics and circumstances and Essentials 4 Women is able to supplement other community providers by distributing donations of disposable sanitary supplies. But in undeveloped nations, the problems are much more complex and, indeed, complicated by poor access to health, education and infrastructure support. Imagine the difficulties faced in remote communities that have no sewerage and no rubbish disposal systems.

Women and girls in these countries have, for many years, resorted to the use of many primitive solutions. This is quite confronting to hear. They resort to using things such as leaves, bark, mattress stuffing, newspapers, corn husks, rocks—in fact, anything they can find—in order to be able to carry on with their life. It leads not just to social isolation and skin problems but also to devastating internal infections which can cause terrible consequences, including infertility and, in extreme cases, death. Days for Girls have overcome this for many communities.

Days for Girls provide a simple, direct, effective solution by constructing and distributing quality sustainable feminine hygiene kits, conducting sanitation and health education and creating employment opportunities. Each kit contains washable components which, cared for correctly, last two to three years. Days for Girls South Australia partners with non-profit groups and organisations such as Rotary, Zonta, Soroptimists, Lionesses, World Families Australia, Girl Guides, high schools, quilting and church craft groups, to produce and distribute kits.

Thanks to a global grassroots network of thousands of volunteers and supporters on six continents, this group has been able to reach women in over 100 countries. Days for Girls International was commenced in Washington State, US, in 2008 by Celeste Mergens. South Australian Days for Girls commenced in February 2012 and now has an Adelaide chapter and teams registered in Kapunda, Renmark and the Murray-Mallee, with pending registration for Mount Gambier. Hundreds of women—and also a few men, actually—are involved all over South Australia working to fill orders under the direction of volunteers, Susanne Harris, the State Coordinator and Adelaide Chapter Leader, and Cheryl Caldwell, the Assistant State Coordinator.

Days for Girls Adelaide SA Chapter holds regular sewing/packing events which attract up to 70 volunteers, enthusiastically making and packing kit components. Several groups meet monthly. Reynella community centre holds one event per school term and the Aberfoyle Seeds Uniting Church craft group hosts a group that sews weekly. I believe the member for Mitchell has attended the one at Reynella community centre and I have attended several at Aberfoyle Seeds Uniting. I believe they have 200 volunteers on their books, many of whom I have met. I found their working bees to be very therapeutic, although I did find that I got a little RSI with all the folding (because I do not have a licence to drive the sewing machine any more) but I found their generosity and kindness extraordinary.

Since commencement, there have been 5,070 kits sent to 20 countries including Nepal, Vanuatu, Fiji, Cambodia, New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In addition, 1,000, including 100 postnatal kits, have been sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo along with Zonta birthing kits this month. In many areas where there are inadequate facilities and poor affordability, we see the terrible consequences for women, but it is great to make some kind of an inroad globally.

Thank you to all those in our community who are supporting this important work. It is interesting to note that Susanne Harris devoted her life as a midwife helping women and girls in our community, and now she is making a global impact. I would encourage you all to visit daysforgirls.org because a very small amount of money can provide a lot of help.