A WOTTON woman is challenging period poverty by giving free necessities to women and girls who can't afford sanitary products in Ethiopia.
Arabella Stewart, who spent her childhood in Ethiopia, has launched a project to provide free sanitary products to young girls in order to keep them in school.
It is estimated that 51 per cent of young girls in the country drop out of school on a regular basis, not because they want to, but because of period and a lack of sanitary towels.
Arabella spent time in the African country while her parents worked as broadcast journalists before returning to the UK in the mid-1970s.
She now divides her time between the UK and Ethiopia, where she teaches English in Addis Ababa, a city in the country's centre.
She previously founded the charity Project Pencil Case 14 years ago encouraging primary schools in the Wotton area to start collecting stationery to send to Addis.
It was launched in 2009 after she found numerous unused pens and pencils in her son’s bedroom.
The charity has since been expanded to offer free uniforms, scholarships and now period kits called Zena.
The team is now producing sanitary kits in partnership with Arakele Fashion Design College in Addis and are appealing for funds to help sponsor period kits.
Each kit contains four reusable washable pads - one to wear, two as spare and one to wash - provided in a bag made from fabric waste.
The period kits - which cost £5 to make - are made by marginalised women who have received sewing and design training at Arakele College.
Arabella said: “I started PPC addressing the need for basic pencil cases for children and today we are addressing the urgent need for girls to have basic period kits to help them stay in school.
“Falling behind in school can cause girls to drop out altogether.
"But owning their own personal period pad kit will help a girl remain in school – it is literally as simple as that.”
Arabella is hoping for support from students, teachers, and schools in the Wotton area.
Details of Arabella’s work and how you could help Project Pencil Case can be found on the website www.projectpencilcase.org
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