Valley residents Barbara Whyte and Teresa Groenewegen-Caza will be travelling to the Cape Coast area of Central Ghana during the last two weeks of November to raise awareness about menstrual health among students at four schools in and near the village of Anomabo.
The pair will be facilitating the distribution of sustainable menstrual kits manufactured by a Ghanian Days for Girls (DfG) Enterprise which advocates for menstrual equity, health, dignity, and opportunity.
With the support of the Haut-Saint-Laurent DfG sewing team, Groenewegen-Caza and Whyte, along with other team members, are now fundraising to finance the purchase of kits and fund the participation of both male and female students in education sessions. In past projects, which primarily involved supporting schoolgirls in Haiti, the team has sewn and assembled the kits. This time, they will be supporting a local enterprise.
Groenewegen-Caza travelled to Central Ghana in October of last year with a Windsor area Rotary Club and participated in DfG distributions in four schools. “It was interesting to go, but shocking.” Human Trafficking of youth in these communities occurs frequently. While there, she met Marylin Kippins, a part time Albany NY area resident who lives and supports projects in the Anomabo area. Groenewegen-Caza and Whyte will be staying with Kippins in November.
The Haut-Saint-Laurent DfG sewing team will be at the Huntingdon Country Farmers’ Market every Wednesday this September to raise funds for the project.
