Women’s Conference To Focus On ‘Days For Girls’ Project

By STEPHANIE BUNKER

Moapa Valley Progress

The Days for Girls organization has been a source of love and opportunity for impoverished girls around the world. But it has also been a way for many in the Moapa Valley to unite and to serve. On Saturday March 4 from 10:00 am -12:00 pm, a Days for Girls event will be held at the Fine Arts Building on the fairgrounds. Although sponsored by the LDS Logandale Stake Women’s Conference all women in the community are invited to come and assist in making the kits. Organizers say they will need all the help they can get.

The Days for Girls program works to build a better life for girls in impoverished places by providing feminine hygiene kits. Local Days For Girls organizer Lorri Rust explained that these kits are changing the lives of girls giving them the opportunity to stay in school during their menstrual cycles. Without the kits the girls are often forced to stay at home in their room during that week and are unable to attend school. Staying in school makes them more likely to get jobs and be better mothers to their children. They are exploited less, becoming better functioning members of society, Rust said.

There have been several past events where local women have gathered to prepare the kits. But this one is a bit different.
“What is special about this event is that we will be sending them to a specific place,” Rust said.

She explained that Logandale residents Dan and Lorraine Bailey have a son, Heath, who is living in Nairobi Kenya with his wife Melinda and kids. The African girls in Nairobi have not received any Days for Girls hygiene kits and they are in need of the resources.
“This is a very personal mission for us to do for these kids,” said Rust.

Rust explained that there has been an outpouring of financial donations toward the event and 100% of the money has been used to purchase supplies for the hygiene kits. But those funds have been depleted in preparation for the March 4th extravaganza. So the group they still needs money donated specifically to pay for shipping.

Shipping is an expense that Rust hasn’t had to deal with previously. She would normally send the completed kits to the Days for Girls headquarters where they would be shipped. But for this event they will be bypassing headquarters to ensure the kits get to Nairobi by shipping them directly to Melinda Bailey.
“You will never be able to make enough, there are 340 girls in this school and it’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Melinda Bailey said.

But Rust doesn’t want any of the girls at the school to be left out of the opportunity and has set the goal to complete all 340 kits. “It will probably require women to take projects home and finish them up after March 4, but we will do all we can to reach that goal!” Rust said.

Local women have already been busy preparing kits for the March 4 event. Rust reported that 30-40 women are working on kits so there will be kits in all different stages. Everyone will have a job to do as soon as they arrive, she said.

For those who would like to help by donating contact Lorri Rust at 702-379-3247.