1. 12 Dec



    Giving Out the Good: Final Distribution of the Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ Pilot

    Ladies and gentlemen, the Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ pilot was a success!  As we reported last month, we were already starting to see attendance numbers improve with the first round of GoodBags™, and now it’s official.  With the final distribution event our three-month pilot program this past Monday, December 8, 2011, we have made an impact in female student absenteeism related to menstruation!

    To recap, our Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ initiative was developed in response to high rates of absenteeism at Ocean View Secondary School in the townships outside Cape Town, South Africa.  We learned that high school girls were missing days of school each month because they lacked access to, or means to buy, sanitary supplies.  Then, between GoodStripe’s go-getter attitude and a partnership with Johnson & Johnson of South Africa, we supplied packs of sanitary supplies to each of the school’s 573 female students once a month from October through December.  

    And the best part is— it works!  The GoodBag™ model is now proven to have a concrete, measurable effect on acute problems facing communities in need.  Once our evaluation of the Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ initiative is complete, we’ll share the results!  

     
    In the mean time, GoodStripe.com is up and running!  We are OPEN FOR BUSINESS and don’t it feel good!  Come visit us and, if you like, keep the Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ initiative going by clicking it at check out. (& psst… visit us on Facebook, Like our page, and get a deal to use on the website. Sweet!)    

     

  2. 15 Nov



    Giving Out the Good: Getting Results with Sanitary Supplies GoodBags™!

    If we may say so ourselves, our Sanitary Supplies GoodBag™ rocks.  We just completed the second distribution event, and the program is already working.  In the course of a single month, GoodStripe’s GoodBags™ have made a difference to the girls of Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, and we couldn’t be more excited!  
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    [school official helping students sign out their supplies]
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    On November 14, 2011 the second round of Sanitary Supplies GoodBags™ were distributed to the nearly 600 students who attend Ocean View Secondary School.  The students at Ocean View are already working hard to overcome the disadvantages of their circumstance, and missing school for want of access to sanitary supplies shouldn’t be an additional roadblock.  The goal of the GoodBag™ program is to substantially reduce this type of absenteeism… and it’s working!  
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    A school official working closely with the GoodBag™ program says that she “normally [has] to send 10-12 girls home every day due to a lack of sanitary towels.  Since this project started [she hasn’t] had to send anyone home for that reason.”  What more could we ask for?  
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    [signing for supplies]
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    Well, we know the GoodBags™ can do good for the girls’ educations, and we wanted to extend the educational opportunities to the distribution events.  Rather than join in a school-wide assembly like for the inaugural distribution, the girls were called down in smaller groups so they could ask any questions with much more privacy.  They even shared a few thoughts with our field partner. “It makes me feel so good because my mum can’t afford to buy [sanitary supplies] … I’ve only had the opportunity to use proper sanitary towels a couple of times before,” said one of our recipients.  
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    [class with their new sanitary supplies!]
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    The GoodBags™ also help the girls help each other.  “Some of my friends don’t have pads and are too embarrassed to acknowledge it.  I’ve been able to give them some,” shares an 11th grade student.  So far cooperation, attendance, and healthful practices are coming out of the GoodBag™.  We can’t wait to see what other kinds of good result!
     

  3. 11 Oct



    Giving Out the Good: Initiating a New GoodBag™ Program in Cape Town, South Africa!

     

    What’s better than a GoodBag™ program that gives out the good to folks in one country?  A GoodBag™ program that gives out the good in two!
     
    Our Indian GoodBag™ programs have been active since July, equipping women and young children with mosquito nets to prevent malaria and school supplies to support their educations.  Now we’re adding a new GoodBag™ program to the roster… in Cape Town, South Africa!

    GoodStripe has partnered with Ocean View Secondary School, which serves teenage girls in the impoverished townships surrounding Cape Town.  By working with the school administration and our GoodStripe field partner, we learned that absenteeism is a prevalent issue at Ocean View. Although it has negative implications for the girls’ educations and futures, there’s a way for the GoodStripe community to help. Hurrah!



    Many of the girls who attend Ocean View do not have the resources to secure sanitary supplies for their periods, and nearly a dozen leave school every day for this reason. Some miss as much as a week of school each month, all for want of pads. We created the Sanitary Supplies GoodBags™ to address this problem alongside the school administrators, who are incredibly dedicated to empowering their students.  With time we hope to see with the ripple effects of the girls earning their degrees and working to break the cycle of poverty that exists in the Townships. The GoodBags™ are by no means a silver bullet, but they can do some real good.

     

    The first Sanitary Supplies GoodBag Distribution took place October 10, 2011 in the assembly room at Ocean View.  Both of the school’s deputy principals addressed the girls with a positive message about their individuality and potential.  The girls also learned about GoodStripe and the GoodBag programs, and received basic health information and a questionnaire to test their knowledge. After all, knowledge is power! Then each student received her GoodBag of 20 sanitary pads!



    Perhaps most importantly, the girls learned how to be active partners in the GoodBag program. Since the program’s objective is to reduce absenteeism substantially over the next three months, the girls are expected to use their pads and come to school during their periods. We hope that by giving the girls the tools they need to change their behavior, they will get more out of their educations.



    Two more distribution dates are already planned for the next two months!  Stay tuned for more GoodBags™ and GoodStriping in South Africa. 

    [photos courtesy of Ocean View Secondary School]