The “Old Sew and Sews,” a group of women who gather weekly to sew and fellowship, spent the past several months making hygiene products for girls in Kenya as part of a missionary project.
Patti Robey said the women took inspiration from missionary Kristen Barnett of Macon, who visited Kenya last summer and returned “on fire” about the needs she witnessed among young girls there.
“They have to miss school sometimes because they are embarrassed to go in the situation they’re in,” Robey said. “There are pads over there that they can buy, but they don’t have the money.”
The reusable hygiene pads are handmade and include several layers, including a waterproof bottom layer and a removable core.
Robey said the group used donated materials, such as towels and waterproof tablecloths, to create the products.
Making a single pad from start to finish took at least an hour if everything was cut individually.
The group also made drawstring bags that will be distributed alongside the pads. Each bag will include pads, a bar of soap, and a pair of panties.
Robey said the soap and underwear will be purchased overseas by missionaries to avoid transportation costs.
Much of the fabric and supplies used for the project were donated by members of the community.
“I would say 80% of it has been given to us,” Robey said. “Even the ones that we ‘bought’ were actually donated, too, because people wouldn’t take money for it.”
By the end of the project, the group completed around 700 pads and more than 350 bags.
On Saturday, the women boxed the items up and delivered them to missionaries at Calvary Baptist Church in Macon before praying over the supplies and transporting them overseas.
