Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Update... and New Project!

Yes, I know, I don't update this very frequently...

I've been making up a few sets of foldup pads... as I've run low on PUL scraps, but got a lot of hemp fleece and flannelette to use... so I've made the foldup pads with strip of PUL to still provide waterproofed pads, but conserving PUL

Putting them in packs of 5, with instructions for use, and a note.  To pay for postage to get them to Shanti Uganda, I've been "selling" these packs..... people "buy" them, but instead of them receiving anything,  the money to pay to post them to Shanti Uganda.  So they are basically sponsoring the pad set... so in the note I include, I say who the pad set is from, giving the person's name.


I was also contacted by a friend who has moved to Papua New Guinea, who wanted some pads for the ladies there.  So I sent off a package of Base+insert pads.  Not the prettiest - I had orange fabric to use up...
I can't remember how many there were.. 50 I think...

I'd had to stop pad donations, as in Nov or Dec 2010 the US postal service introduced a new fee of $9 for mail sent from Australia to the US (and I'm presuming from other countries too)... supposedly to pay for extra security screening due to terrorist threats... which means a 5 pad set that would normally cost me $10 to post to somewhere like Shanti Uganda, would now cost $19...  quite a price hike... 

So I need to find non-US based organisations to post to.

Today however, I was contacted by  Lori from http://empowerwomeninafrica.com - who needs 225 pads (though more would be great) for a girls conference in Namibia.  I told her of the postage issue, and she's going to organise an address to post direct to Namibia, so that will be brilliant.

I already had 30 pads made up (half foldups half base+inserts) - so that's a start... I'll try to make sure they have their 225 by the June deadline, but I'll need to enlist the help of others!

SHE Innovates

A couple of months ago I contacted SHE to ask if I would be able to donate a portion of my sales (I run a business selling cloth pads) to their project.  Since I love the idea of their organisation, and I would like to support them...   My aim was to donate $1 from the sale of each pad I sold (transferring it over in the $28 lots).

Unfortunately they declined my offer, saying they weren't interested.  I'm really not sure why they refused my offer, I'd have thought every bit they could raise would be a good thing, but apparently my money isn't wanted. Hmmph!