1.30.2010

she - sustainable health enterprisees


A very smart woman had an idea, it was a very simple idea but a very good idea.
Elizabeth Scharpf started SHE after a study she conducted found that girls and adult women are absent from school and work in developing countries up to 50 days a year simply because they lack access to affordable sanitary pads. That's 50 whole days of desperately-needed education and wages lost every year for a reason so unnecessary it boggles the mind.

Elizabeth decided to do something about it. But she's not donating sanitary supplies. Instead she's helping women in developing countries start their own businesses manufacturing sanitary pads from banana fibers (a renewable resource) and selling them at an affordable price to women in their communities. Her approach creates a sustainable local supply for these necessities while providing new and lasting economic opportunities for women trying to lift their families up out of poverty. SHE provides the training and seed money. The women who own these new micro-enterprises take it from there, and everybody wins: for every new SHE business established, 100 jobs are created and 100,000 women gain access to affordable sanitary pads.

It's simple and it works. Visit the SHE website to find out more about what you can do to help... but I think that this can also spark other ideas that are equally simple yet so necessary. See what you can do to help.

click here to visit the SHE website

I heard about this initiative via the Seventh Generation website, they always have terrific news so check it out and buy their products!!

Thank you Seventh Generation for keeping us informed on GOOD news!