Empowerment; something rarely seen in today’s society, is executed carefully through “The Pad Project”. If you read my article on the MFH Food Ministry, you know how wonderful of a person Cheryl Alston, is. Her life has been dedicated to helping others in every possible way, form, and shape. Giving back to the community is one of the many things this extraordinary woman does, but she is not limited to her own community, and neither are you.

If you’re wondering what The Pad Project really is, you need to know about how girls in several parts of Africa struggle when it comes to their time of month. The regular menstrual cycle for them has been dubbed a curse, because they do not have the sanitary necessities that most of us reading this take for granted every single day. From soap, to pads, and even underwear, many of them have been waiting their entire lives for such “luxury” items. When on their periods, many of the girls skip school altogether for months at a time because of the embarrassment that entails other students finding out. And as for how they maintain cleanliness during their cycle, pads are very expensive in Kenya and most of Africa, forcing them to use random cloths they find, toilet paper, or even leaves from trees.

Cheryl had the opportunity to visit Kenya along with those who help her with the Pad Project in 2011. Materials needed to make pads, underwear, and blue bags filled with sanitary items in tow, Cheryl visited schools in Kenya and brought a group of gynecologists and doctors to educate the girls about their menstrual cycles. However, the girls were taught more than just about why and how girls have periods. With the colorful fabric and materials needed, Cheryl and those she was working with physically showed the girls how to sew pads into underwear. I find it incredible how far you can take one idea to help others.

As I was talking to Cheryl, she told me a story about a 60-year-old woman she came across while visiting Kenya and the girls studying to be seamstresses in school there. This woman told her that she had been waiting her whole life for a pair of underwear. Underwear. Going one day without underwear would be atrocious to us, because we are so used to living a privileged life. Compared to those who are struggling for an everyday article of clothing in Africa, we are riding on a golden chariot.

Cheryl’s reasoning behind why she taught the girls how to sew their own pads and underwear instead of letting them pick from a pre-made pile comes from the Bible saying, “If you give a man a fish, he will eat today, but teach a man to fish and he will eat forever.” In accordance, teaching the girls how to sew their own underwear is something that is so useful and vital to them that they will practice and remember it for as long as forever. However, if Cheryl were to just hand the girls their packages, they would have had the materials for a day, a week at most, and then discard them. Cheryl strongly believes that “when God’s people are in need, [you need to] be ready to help them,”. That is exactly what she is doing by aiding these girls with something that never even occurred to many of us. And the outcome? The girls made over 150 pads the next day, all smiling faces.

Cheryl hopes to touch upon many new girl programs around the world, India being one of the places in need. Helping uplift a girl and her family can be one of the most rewarding things you will do in life. The moral of the story is, don’t gloat in what you have. More than likely, you have more than what someone else does. Help those in need. Empower.