Susanna Matters was half way through university, wondering where to go in life, when she suddenly found herself at a camp in Muhaka, Kenya. There she met a group of women called the Pink Chapati Ladies, who told her exactly where to go.
The Pink Chapatis are a group of women who cut and sew ‘chapatis’, or reusable menstrual pads, for women and young girls. The pads, which are made from a simple pattern and require little cloth, provide a means for women to attend to their menstrual cycles efficiently – and healthily.
Girls equipped with chapatis are able to go to school whilst on their periods, and as well as avoiding using unhealthy and unsanitary alternatives, such as dirty rags and cow dung.
Susanna saw the work of these women, and began Goods For Girls, an non-for-profit organisation that raises money for the making and distribution of these chapatis.
It is for her work with Goods For Girls that Susanna won our Women of the Future award in 2013, and checking in with her since then it is clear that her winning was a huge boost to her foundation.
“It’s having an impact nationally,” she says, “Just in terms of awareness – having people be aware of the issue of sanitation and the awareness of things like sanitary pads in general – people are being more proactive about having that conversation.”
Susanna revealed to us, that she put her winnings from the sponsorship towards building a private toilet block for girls in the area, as well as supplying over 2000 girls with reusable sanitary pads.
But the distribution is not the only positive to come out of their last successful year. Goods For Girls employs young women and women with families to manufacture these sanitary pads, and Susanna reports that from these earnings, most of the girls are putting their money towards colleges and vocational classes.
“Young women are the future, and the research says that training and empowering women has the power to transform societies.”
To make a difference like Susanna has, and to have a chance to share in a $100,000 prize pool, visit wotf.aww.com.au and follow the prompts.
