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WAM will be donating $1,000 from the profits from Lady Randy to The Mooncatcher Project, which will provide 200 menstrual kits to girls in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, and India. Mooncatcher provides kits containing free reusable, washable menstrual pads, as well as classes on menstruation management and reproductive health, to school girls in the poorest communities worldwide. These kits provide a way for girls to stay in school while menstruating, giving them a greater chance of completing their education.
Roe Vickery, the Grant Writer for The Mooncatcher Project, took time to tell us more about their work and how WAMily members can get more involved.
WAM Theatre: How did The Mooncatcher Project get connected with WAM?
Roe Vickery: I had read Half the Sky, and then about a year ago I read profile of Kristen van Ginhoven. Being a shameless promoter I wrote her a letter asking if WAM would consider us as a beneficiary. And this year it worked out!
WAM: How did The Mooncatcher Project get started?
Roe: Two American volunteers in Zimbabwe – Denise Stasik and Heidi Ricks – noticed that girls were using whatever they could find to help deal with their menses. Denise gave a talk to The Women’s Global Giving Circle in Saratoga Springs New York in 2010 about this issue and Ellie von Wellsheim, our Founder and Executive Director, happened to be there that day.
Having grown up in her father’s sewing factory, Ellie has been around fabrics, sewing machines, and pattern making since she was a little girl. She’s had a sewing business herself and knew she could streamline the production of the reusable pad she saw that day and find people here in the United States to make it. With Denise’s blessing she set to work and founded the MoonCatcher Project. The Project has made an impact in over 15 countries around the world and supports six sewing guilds in Africa. We have also assisted partner organizations to start two other guilds in Africa.
WAM: The idea of reusable pads is uncomfortable for some, explain why that is a necessary part of a Mooncatcher Kit.
Roe: In many parts of the world buying disposable pads is not a viable option for women and girls. Menstrual pads are too expensive – a typical family can make as little as $1 per day and one package of pads can cost $1. Disposal is often impossible due to lack of garbage removal. The pads are made to be worn without underpants because they too are often well beyond the financial means of our girls and their families.
WAM: What goes into each kit?
Roe: Take a look here http://www.mooncatcher.org/what-we-do-1
We try to buy supplies locally whenever possible in each of the countries where we are in operation. Supporting the local economy and working to make this project sustainable is very important to us.
WAM: How did you get connected to Mooncatcher?
Roe: One of my former college roommates runs a MoonBee, so when I retired and moved to New York state, I joined our group in Ravena, NY. They invited me because I sew! I was a school principal so I have lots of grant-writing experience, so I volunteer to help the Project, in that way too.
WAM: What happens at a MoonBee?
Roe: Volunteers gather to sew, cut, iron, turn and assemble the pads. We sit together and talk as our women ancestors did during old-fashioned sewing bees. Everyone is welcome – people of all ages and gender identities – even if you have no sewing skills.
WAM: Are there any MoonBees here in the Berkshires?
Roe: This is our first foray into Berkshire County. Right now we are centered in the New York State capital region, but it would be wonderful if people are inspired to organize MoonBees in Massachusetts! We have a board member who helps new groups get started and when we do a MoonBee we bring everything you need to get started. People should just reach out to us via e-mail to inquire about hosting a MoonBee or donating supplies (including Tyvek envelopes, thread, or fabric).
WAM: You have teams at work making Mooncatcher Kits in many other countries too, right?
Roe: In 2016 we started sewing cooperatives in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi, each with an in-country coordinator. A board member visits the cooperatives and the girls at the schools that we serve at least once a year. We gather statistics on the impact our kits are having on absenteeism. And the girls tell us that we keep them in schools. We always want to hear back from the girls so we can tweak our design.
With our partners in Africa and India we offer classes on menstruation management and reproductive health to school girls entering puberty.
We send cut supplies or patterns for people to make our kits in other countries in Africa and around the world. We also send as many finished kits and copies of our health education curriculum as possible with our volunteers when they travel.
WAM: Are you looking forward to the check presentation and getting to see Lady Randy?
Roe: I have just read a book about “Lady Randy” so this is a serendipitous connection for me personally. I love WAM’s mission and philosophy and that you’ve been so successful for ten years now, just like Mooncatcher. In fact I think Kristen and Ellie are very alike in that they inspire people to want to do the work necessary to make a difference.
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