Continuing to put a dent in period poverty

Thanks to our committed volunteers for coming to the recent MoonBees in our region and beyond (The Crandell Public Library in Glens Falls, Great Diamond Island in Maine, Union College in Schenectady, the University of Connecticut and the Greenwich Free Library). Be sure to check our CALENDAR for upcoming MoonBees and events!

Our volunteers made plenty of MoonCatcher Kits and we were able to provide 100 to the Hispanola Health Partners a wonderful organization that continues to provide health care in Haiti in spite of the enormous difficulties there. Kits were also sent to an orphanage in Kitale, Kenya, and to the Taasa Health Clinics in Uganda.

africa update

Our tailors in Africa have been busy making MoonCatcher Kits for distribution during the new school term which is just beginning.

In Kenya, our Board Member Agnes Pala-Bukhala is working with Joseph Obiero, who runs an NGO called the Hope for Widows and Children Foundation located in Kisumu. They are discussing a partnership between our organizations that hopefully will lead to some local financial support for our Kenya-based cooperatives.

Rampant inflation continues to be a source of concern in Malawi. In January of 2025, food inflation hit a high of 36%, with the overall inflation rate at 28.5% (compared to the US rate of just under 4%). This translates to acute food insecurity for well over 5 million Malawians, approximately a quarter of the total population. Ellie and Charlotte will travel to Malawi next month to assess the impact of this dire situation on our work there.

Meanwhile in Malawi - we have joined forces with “Shake It So” an organization that uses the power of music and dance to create connections between people all over the world, and then leverage those connections to make positive change. Shake it So is hosting an on-line dance event to provide MoonCatcher Kits and improve bathroom facilities for girls at the Chimbowe and Lingadzi Schools in Malawi.

We visited the Lindgazi school in 2024. Private, safe bathrooms are needed in all schools for all students, and especially girls during menstruation.

In Uganda Phoebe is scheduling school visits for this new term as the tailors in all four cooperatives work on kit production (photos below are of the tailors at the Wakiso Cooperative working in the Sewing Center that MCP helped to build) .

Africa Trip 2025

Charlotte and I have been preparing for our trip to Africa next month (March 9-29). We have airline tickets and are putting together our itinerary. We will go to Malawi first and then to Uganda and Kenya. We will meet up in Uganda with my son Zak and our friend from the Scotia Rotary Club, Helen Penna. We plan to meet with the Ugandan Rotary Club that has partnered with the Scotia Club to secure an International Rotary Foundation Grant of $43,000 to reimburse MCP for kits delivered to schools chosen by the Uganda Club. So far we have received a little over $8,700 from this three-year grant.  We plan to visit one of the schools the grant is funding.. In Kenya we will meet up with Agnes who has been there for a while, working with our team and with local NGOs to develop partnerships. And once again my living room looks like a bomb went off as I pack supplies and gifts for our African friends.

I always bring a ton of supplies to our cooperatives each time I visit Africa.

The Annual Birthday Bash is coming soon!

It’s that time again – I’m about to celebrate yet another birthday!  And as you know, the only gifts I want are menstrual supplies.  This year all donated supplies will go to stock our period pantries. Please join us if you can.

Can’t make it? Go HERE to purchase menstrual products at Amazon and have them shipped directly to us. If you have sworn off Amazon, you can purchase locally and drop off products at Tara Kitchen beginning on March 1 to receive a coupon ($10) for their vibrant, not fiery, dishes that are seasoned with spices that reflect Morocco’s history. If you haven’t tried Tara Kitchen - you need to!

period pantries

We now have 5 period pantries in the Schenectady High School. Students painted 4 of them. They have been placed in the learning centers throughout the school.

Schenectady High School Period Pantries - painted by students!

A bit THANK YOU to the many organization supportingPeriod Pantries:

The Schenectady Foundation has provided a grant of $7,500 toward administrative costs and supplies to stock the pantries. We are so grateful!

We continue to make new partnerships locally with the Period Pantry project.  Grassroots Givers in Albany donated a large number of menstrual products and plans to continue to provide donations for Period Pantries. USCRI in Albany also donated menstrual supplies.

And a big shoutout to our friends at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady for donations of supplies.

I would like to close with a quote from Maya Angelou: “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.”

Love,

Ellie