Happy International Women’s Day! Today, March 8, we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It is also a day to stress the importance of accelerating women’s equality. In celebration of this, we want to take a moment to bring attention to some of our wonderful partners and programs who are working to do just that.
One significant barrier to women’s equality is education, and two of our incredible partners, HER International and Style Her Empowered (SHE), make it possible for more women around the world to have access to these resources. There are different barriers to receiving an education depending on the culture and community, but one large reason keeping these young girls out of school is the financial burden that funding their educations creates on their families. Through our partnerships with these amazing organizations, 1,510 scholarships are provided annually for girls in rural Nepal and Togo.
We have had the great honor of watching these women and girls grow in their knowledge, skills, and confidence. One of these young women is Elolo. Since graduating with SHE, Elolo has gone on to bring electricity to her neighborhood and join SHE Togo to coordinate education sponsorships for girls across 21 rural villages.
Not only is school education important, but it is also important for girls to have the necessary education about their bodies and options when it comes to their menstrual cycles and how to care for themselves. Many women are held back from school or work during their periods, which can greatly hurt their ability to support themselves and their families. The Karat School Project in Cote d’Ivoire holds various workshops to teach about these topics and empower girls to make decisions that are best for their bodies. How incredible is that?!
Getting reusable period care and education into the hands of teens closer to home is also dear to our hearts, which is why we love working with The Flow. The Flow works with under-resourced Black and Latina communities in California to provide culturally specific and multilingual education about reusable period products. With so many teens struggling to afford period care and many schools only offering disposable options, this leaves these teens vulnerable during times of the year when they aren’t in school, such as summer and winter breaks. Reusable options give these teens the security that they need to go about their days without having to worry about caring for this basic function.
These and so many more organizations across the globe are working every day to support the women of the world and propel them forward in their lives and communities. Here at Saalt, we hope to be able to have a small hand in pushing these organizations forward and helping them continue to serve our sisters and friends.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we are donating 2,500 cups to one of our other fantastic partners - I Support The Girls. Through their A.S.H. Kit program, ISTG directly supplies domestic violence survivors, those going through menopause, and non-binary people with the basic essentials they need to live their element.
We encourage you to check these organizations out and support them however you can! Whether it is a post on social media to spread the word or taking a trip yourself to be on the front lines, the women of the world need to support one another if we are ever to reach the heights we are capable of.
You can learn more about these organizations on their websites or you can check out our Saalt Impact Report. Thank you for supporting Saalt so we can continue to support these incredible organizations and people.