Words by Smiley Team
While most people picked up hobbies like bread-making or rollerskating over the lockdown, 21-year-old languages student Ella Lambert chose to do something positive for others. Having had to cancel plans to visit a refugee shelter in Colombia, she decided to help female refugees from home by sewing reusable sanitary pads.
After posting messages on a local Facebook group, asking for fabric scraps, she suddenly had someone coming to the door every day with bags of material.
“I borrowed a sewing machine and learnt to sew, developed a pattern, enlisted my mum and uni friend and we got to work,” she said. “There are so many people in the world dealing with period poverty, but it seemed to me, that refugees already have so much on their plate, they shouldn't also have to worry about getting sanitary products each month.”
Starting out as just three people sewing pads at Ella’s kitchen table, the project grew as they contacted groups across the country, building a network of hundreds of people working for the initiative which Ella called The Pachamama Project. They now have over 350 volunteers and 4,500 pads ready, enough for 1,000 people, which they will distribute over the next months.
After sitting diligently at their sewing machines for long hours, the volunteers send the sanitary wear to Lesbos and Athens, where their partner organisations The Azadi Project and Refugym distribute the pads to those living in flats or refugee camps with adequate facilities to wash the pads.
In the Bekaa Valley, they joined forces with The Free Shop Lebanon, which employs a nurse to distribute the pads, educates women about menstruation and encourages them to openly discuss the topic amongst themselves.
The Pachamama Project also works with Wing Woman Lebanon, in Beirut, which distributes the pads and teaches a group of refugee women how to make the pads themselves.
Ella explained: “They will be able to make their own sets as well as sell them to other refugees so that they can generate a bit of extra income, gain some business skills and help us supply to more people.
“A pack of pads in Lebanon can cost as much as £9 for a pack which is difficult to sustain even for the most privileged. We are so pleased we are able to provide a long-term solution.”
To get involved as a sewer, contact [email protected]. They will provide a pattern, tutorial and guide on how to source materials for free, or the fabric itself when that is not possible.
Non-sewers can help by donating to their fundraiser, or by sending fabric and sewing machines to Swindon for their refugee-run sewing group.
“Of course, one thing we can all do is just talk about the issues more. It is so important that we raise the profile of period poverty and get more comfortable talking about periods, so that young girls and women no longer feel the stigma and shame and so that we can learn how to support those who are not getting the products they need,” added Ella.
Visit The Pachamama Project’s website for further information.
