Our project in Bhutan is progressing well! RENEW Bhutan has been focussed on the demanding task of packing the 1,000 Days for Girls Washable Menstrual Health Kits provided under this project. Training in packing was provided by the North Strathfield team of Days for Girls Australia, together with online resources. The packed kits present beautifully! Well done and thank you to everyone at RENEW ! Stay tuned for more updates on the final stages of our project. Thank you again to our generous donors who have made this project possible 🙏
Thank you to Days for Girls Australia!
We are delighted to share the news that a delivery of kit components donated by the North Strathfield Days for Girls team has arrived at RENEW in Thimphu, Bhutan. Within the delivery are shields, liners, transport bags and drawstring bags for 100 of the total of 1,000 kits to be distributed under this pilot. RENEW will pack these kit components together with items sourced in the local market – underwear, soap and washers. The delivery also included some resources for distribution and education for the use of the Bhutanese Ministry of Education.
This delivery was made possible through the North Strathfield Days for Girls team who have generously supported this project from our start in 2015. Team leader Cathie Searle cleverly accessed her network to ensure this delivery. As postage between Australia and Bhutan has been suspended during the COVID pandemic, Cathie arranged for the transport of these kit components via India through the generous support of a Rotary colleague residing in Kolkata. We lost track of the boxes more than once during their months of transit but we are delighted with their arrival at RENEW. Stay tuned for more updates!
Thank you to Days for Girls Nepal…
The sewn components for 900 of the kits for the Days for Girls Bhutan pilot have been made by Days for Girls Nepal.
Here are some photos Maya Khaitu, the Days for Girls Country Director for Nepal sent through of her team making the components for our kits. Thank you to Maya and Days for Girls Nepal for your tremendous support!
Thank you to the Westpac Giving Circle!
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Westpac Giving Circle for providing a grant to the Bhutan Girls’ Project, through Days for Girls Australia. The Giving Circle was established by a group of Westpac employees to donate and raise funds for the Bhutan Girls’ Project. Funds donated by the Giving Circle have been generously matched by Westpac Bank. We would like to thank Westpac Bank, Good2Give and the individual members of the Westpac Giving Circle for our project: Deepti Bhatt, Rebecca Booth, Mohinee Deo, Kathleen Keely, Brigitte Liew, Apoorv Parashar, Jasmine Parer, Lavinia Rarinca, Neena Shukla, Geeta Sully and Emma Wiltshire. We would also like to extend special thanks to Carin Lavery and Lynne Umbers for their support during the project.
With their support and our joint donor, the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation we are launching a pilot program to distribute 1000 Days for Girls Washable Menstrual Health kits to school girls in Bhutan. We are working in close partnership with RENEW and the Bhutanese Ministry of Education, School Health and Nutrition Division.
Menstrual and reproductive health education will be provided by our partners to the Bhutanese school girls receiving the DfG kits. This education is a vital aspect of the mission of Days for Girls to improve outcomes for these girls.
Just as importantly, monitoring and evaluation of the pilot will be undertaken by our partners in association with Days for Girls International. Our hope is that the pilot will be demonstrated to be a success and that a sustainable presence for DfG might be possible in Bhutan through the establishment of a Days for Girls Enterprise. This would mean that DfG Kits may be made in Bhutan on a sustainable basis.
The BGP has been working steadily since 2015 towards this goal and it is exciting to be at the stage where our pilot is about to begin. Just before we do launch off, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the generous support of the Westpac Giving Circle, which has made this pilot possible.
Thank you Deepti, Rebecca, Mohinee, Kathleen, Brigitte, Apoorv, Jasmine, Lavinia, Neena, Geeta, Emma and Westpac Bank! We are so grateful for your support and we look forward to providing updates on our progress.
The Bhutan Girls’ Project team.
Thank you to the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation®
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation® for providing a grant to the Bhutan Girls’ Project, through Days for Girls Australia. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation empowers people and communities worldwide to make a positive and sustainable change.
With the support of the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation and our joint donor, the Westpac Giving Circle we are launching a pilot program to distribute 1000 Days for Girls Washable Menstrual Health kits to school girls in Bhutan. We are working in close partnership with RENEW and the Bhutanese Ministry of Education, School Health and Nutrition Division.
Menstrual and reproductive health education will be provided by our partners to the Bhutanese school girls receiving the DfG kits. This education is a vital aspect of the mission of Days for Girls to improve outcomes for these girls.
Just as importantly, monitoring and evaluation of the pilot will be undertaken by our partners in association with Days for Girls International. Our hope is that the pilot will be demonstrated to be a success and that a sustainable presence for DfG might be possible in Bhutan through the establishment of a Days for Girls Enterprise. This would mean that DfG Kits may be made in Bhutan on a sustainable basis.
The BGP has been working steadily since 2015 towards this goal and it is exciting to be at the stage where our pilot is about to begin. Just before we do launch off, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the generous support of the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, which has made this pilot possible.
Thank you to the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation! We are so grateful for your support and we look forward to providing updates on our progress.
The Bhutan Girls’ Project team.
Days for Girls Pilot in Bhutan
Days for Girls Pilot in Bhutan
The Bhutan Girls’ Project was started in 2015 with the aim of supporting Days for Girls in Bhutan.
We are excited to share that we will soon start a pilot project in Bhutan in partnership with RENEW and the Bhutanese Ministry of Education School Health and Nutrition Division.
We are grateful to our donors: dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation and the Westpac Giving Circle for the generous funds to make this pilot possible.
Our pilot project is to provide 1,000 Days for Girls Washable Menstrual Health Kits (DfG Kit) to the Bhutanese Ministry of Education to be distributed to school girls in need in Bhutan. Monitoring and evaluation of the use of the kits by the girls will be undertaken by the Bhutanese Ministry of Education to assess their reception. Our hope is that the Pilot will be a success and that steps may be taken to establish a DfG Enterprise in Bhutan, so that kits may be made within Bhutan on a sustainable basis.
We have been working to support DfG in Bhutan since 2015 and we would like to acknowledge our gratitude to many people who have helped us on this journey. From the start, READ Bhutan supported this project through the distribution of donated kits to girls in need. Many of the photos displayed on this site are from the kit distributions undertaken by READ Bhutan. We are also grateful to a team of Bhutanese volunteers who worked with us to support DfG in Bhutan.
We are looking forward to providing updates on the progress of our pilot. Please enter your email in the follow box in the side bar if you’d like to receive our updates by email.
Thank you for your interest and support!
The Bhutan Girls’ Project team.
Questions from the schoolgirls…
Rinchen Choden from READ Bhutan answering a question from one of the school girls at the Kit Distribution in Paro, Bhutan on 3 Nov 2018. Rinchen has conducted many Days for Girls kit distributions and her kind manner encourages the girls (even the very shy girls) to ask vital questions about their reproductive health. Rinchen reports that sometimes the girls and young nuns at her kit distributions have never before received reproductive health education.
These were some of the questions asked by the school girls yesterday:
1. Where does your period come from?
2. Is it unwanted blood from our body?
3. What food can you eat and drink while on your period?
4. What do you have to do when you are on your period?
5. How often do you have to change the sanitary napkins while on period?
6. When you bleed from your nose its okay but when you have your period people say its not okay and its dirty. Why is that?
7. Can you wash your hair with shampoo while on your period?
8. Can you bathe and drink tea and juice while on period?
9. Is it true that we need to wash ourselves with cold water when on period?
10. Where do babies come from?
11. Do we need to stay out of our house when we are on our period?
It is wonderful that Rinchen is able to provide this health education to dispel so many misconceptions about menstruation and empower the girls to manage their period so they can engage fully in their education. These girls are from years 7 and 8. Some girls from lower grades also attended as they were interested to learn.
DfG Kit Distribution in Paro, Bhutan, Nov 2018.
We are delighted to share these photos of a kit distribution on 3 November 2018, to school girls in Paro, Bhutan. The distribution of these kits was made possible through the efforts of the Bhutan Girls Project and four charities/NGO’s. The kits were made by the North Strathfield branch of Days for Girls Australia, transported to Bhutan by the Australian Himalayan Foundation, received by RENEW and then delivered to READ Bhutan. Rinchen Choden from READ Bhutan is shown distributing the kits to the school girls, together with vital health education. It’s wonderful to see the kits in the hands of the girls. Thanks to everyone involved.
DfG Kit distribution in Dorokha, Samtse, Bhutan
We are delighted to share that READ Bhutan has distributed some kits to girls from Sengdey Lower Secondary School in Dorokha. The distribution was conducted by Ms Rinchen Choden from READ Bhutan. Many of the girls come from the Ihop (Doya), Rai and Ghalley indigenous communities of Bhutan and live in the Tading and Dophuchen villages of Dorokha, in Samtse. This is one of the more remote areas of Bhutan. This distribution came about though a conversation between Rinchen Choden and a colleague who is based in the area through her work with another NGO. It is wonderful to see the kits reach the hands of these girls and to know that Rinchen Choden was also able provide the essential education on mentrual health and hygiene that accompanies every kit distribution. Thank you to everyone who supports this project! Particularly READ Bhutan, the North Strathfield Days for Girls Australia team for providing this particular batch of kits and also to everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts.
Kit Distribution and MHM education in Punakha, June 2018.
READ Bhutan conducted their Menstrual Health Program and distribution of Days for Girls reusable sanitary kits to Tashidingkha Middle Secondary school in Mendhagang, Punakha. More than 200 students: boys and girls between the 7th and 10th grade attended the program. A select group of girl received a DfG Kit made by the North Strathfield DfG team.
Bhutan Girls' Project 