The Days for Girls Podcast

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Latest Episodes:

Episode 051: The Period Positive Workplace Initiative with Diana Nelson and Jess Strait Oct 27, 2023

Show notes

In the mission for menstrual equity, Days for Girls, The Policy Project, Share the Dignity, Population Services International Europe, The Pad Project, The International Sanitary Supply Association, and The Toilet Board Coalition partnered to create the Period Positive Workplace initiative to help organizations around the world build menstrual equity.
Visit https://www.periodpositiveworkplace.org/ to learn more.
Period Positive Workplaces support gender equality by providing period products at work.
Your organization can become a certified by doing these three things:

Provide period products in bathrooms
Meet WASH facility standards
Inform employees via a formal notice (e.g., sending an email, announcing it at a staff meeting, updating your employee benefits or HR handbook, etc.) that period products are and will continue to be provided.

Period positive workplaces can increase employee productivity and reduce absenteeism for people who menstruate. Organizations become stronger and more inclusive by providing for menstrual needs.
Join over 100 organizations around the world to become a Period Positive Workplace and receive complimentary certification by applying here.
In this episode of The Days for Girls Podcast, Diana Nelson, DfG Global Advocacy Director and Jess Strait, DfG Data Systems Manager & Advocacy Specialist join us to talk about the Period Positive Workplace.
We discuss:

In depth details on the Period Positive Workplace initiative and how it came about.
How does having period products at work impact employees and why does it matter for businesses?
What the data says about this issue.
The growth of the initiative and organizations already certified.
How you can encourage your employer to become Period Positive Workplace certified.
What it takes to be come certified.

Mentioned in this episode:
Episode 025: Fighting Period Poverty at Penn State with Jess Straight & Emma Cihanowyz
Bios:
Diana Nelson
Diana Nelson is the Global Advocacy Director at Days for Girls International where she focuses on developing policy environments that support women, girls, and people who menstruate with the knowledge and products they need to manage their periods, including the establishment of washables standards and comprehensive menstrual health education. A leader in menstrual health coalition building, she serves on the leadership team for the African Coalition for Menstrual Health (ACMHM), on the Advocacy and Policy Task Committee for the Global Menstrual Collective, and represents DfG on several other coalitions. She helped launch the South Africa Menstrual Health and Hygiene Coalition and advocated to the Cambodian government to pilot menstrual health education in their national curriculum.
Jess Strait
In her dual role, Jess oversees IT operations and Days for Girls advocacy programming in high-income countries. Jess became involved with Days for Girls in 2018 as a founder and president of the Penn State club. Her work there included a campus-wide menstrual cup distribution, co-instructing a course on menstrual equity, conducting a menstrual health needs assessment, and running sewing operations for the club. Jess is a graduate of Penn State University with a B.S. in Data Sciences and a minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

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Episode 050: Jeanne Charbit on Scaling Up Access to Menstrual Health in the Global South Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

Jeanne Charbit is a Project Manager at Hystra Consulting which she joined in 2019. In her first years, Jeanne mainly worked in the nutrition sector, notably on a multi-year partnership between an FMCG and a donor in Nigeria, and on MERIEM project, for which she spent a year in Burkina Faso, working with local companies to develop fortified food products for children and women.
More recently she has been working on menstrual health issues and is the author of Hystra’s report "Scaling up access to menstrual health in the Global South: Improving product quality and access to reusable options"
Links:
https://www.hystra.com/our-insights/a2mh
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-charbit/

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Episode 049: The Fistula Foundation with Habiba Corodhia Mohamed Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Habiba C Mohamed is a social change activator, and trained psychotherapist advocating for women’s bio-psychosocial health and rights. Ms Mohamed supports marginalized women and girls to tap into their inner strengths and amplify their potential and impact in society.
Habiba Mohamed works with Fistula Foundation as the Regional Director, Programs (Africa, Asia). Habiba Joined the Foundation in 2014 as the outreach manager. In this role, she designed and spearheaded the community strategy for the Fistula Foundation Treatment Network in Kenya. Later, she was promoted to country director to oversee the entire network of hospital and community partners. Her work has contributed to provision of fistula surgeries, and restoring of dignity to more than 11,000 women in the last 8 years. In her role as regional director of programs, Habiba is responsible for the expansion of the treatment network model throughout the African region.
Before joining the Fistula Foundation, Ms. Mohamed worked on the fistula program for nearly a decade. She is the Founder and Lead Director of Women and Development Against Distress in Africa (WADADIA), a nonprofit organization that advocates for sexual reproductive health and rights for the marginalized women. Since establishing the organization in the year 2006, she has been actively involved in the formulation of policies, procedures and strategies that has led to its growth and expansion. Besides her work with WADADIA, Habiba also supported a community program funded by the United Nations Population Fund for six years, and served as a consultant program specialist for One By One, a US-based nonprofit focused on fistula treatment. She has worked and volunteered with several other organizations, giving her an in-depth understanding of community dynamics and engagement.
Ms Mohamed was the lead consultant in the development of the female genital fistula training curriculum for community health volunteers in Kenya, and a contributor for the new global fistula guidance. She is the author of the psychosocial effects of obstetric fistula on young mothers in Western Kenya, obstetric fistula post-repair follow up; an outreach workers perspective, and the obstetric fistula community-based assessment tool (OF-COMBAT) - a verbal screening tool, that has helped reduce the number of women being referred to fistula treatment centers with other forms of incontinences.
Ms Mohamed began her career as a veterinarian, assisting livestock farmers in Western Kenya. Through this close contact with the community, she began to see the social challenges faced by rural, communities and became passionate about working with marginalized women. She has a higher diploma in Social Work and Community Development, a first and a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is an ongoing PhD candidate of counselling psychology at Kenyatta University.
Links:
https://fistulafoundation.org/
https://www.facebook.com/fistulafoundation/
https://www.facebook.com/WADADIA/
https://www.wadadia-nonprofits.org/
https://www.facebook.com/WADADIA/

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Episode 048: The Malkia Initiative with Jedidah Lemaron Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Jedidah Lemaron is an accomplished psychologist and specialist in AYSRH and Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management. As a training consultant, FGM advocate, and the Founder and Executive Director of The Malkia Initiative, she works tirelessly to ensure that every girl and woman in pastoral communities can participate in development meaningfully and effectively through quality education, advocacy, and gender justice mainstreaming.

With over nine years of experience in Gender, Community Sexual Reproductive Health, and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), Jedidah is committed to empowering women and girls through education, addressing gender equality and sexual reproductive health and rights, policy, and advocacy. She earned her degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Nairobi and completed a Leadership in Civic Engagement program at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jedidah's efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2022, she was honored with the Head of State Award for her contribution to ending Female Genital Mutilation in Kajiado County. She was also a finalist for the Diversity and Inclusion Award and recognition for UNLEASH SDG 5talent in 2022 and a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in 2016.

Links:

https://malkiainitiative.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedidah-lemaron/

https://allafrica.com/stories/201712130690.html

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Episode 047: Mona Foundation with Laura Baerwolf Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Laura Baerwolf has been with Mona Foundation since 2019 and is currently its Chief Operating Officer. She is passionate about Mona’s mission to alleviate poverty through education and gender equality and its unique values-driven approach to philanthropy based on the oneness of humanity. She sees her work at Mona as the culmination of a life-long commitment to service.

Laura is an experienced administrator with a Master's degree in Public Health. She worked in healthcare administration at FHP International for many years and later moved to the nonprofit sector to manage the administrative office of the Regional Bahá'í Council of the Northwestern States.

Prior to joining Mona, Laura worked as a regional coordinator for the Northwest Regional Training Institute, a nonprofit educational agency aimed at empowering children, youth, and adults to develop their individual capabilities and contribute to the betterment of their communities. She currently serves on the Institute’s Board of Directors as its secretary.

Mona Foundation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monafoundation.org/

Mona Foundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/monafoundation

Mona Foundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themonafoundation/

Mona Foundation YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/monafoundation

Mona Foundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1969671/

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Episode 046: Cynthia Covey Haller on DfG & "Living Life in Crescendo" Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Cynthia Covey Haller talks about her latest book, Live Life in Crescendo and why Days for Girls is mentioned as an example of what it means tolive life in crescendo.
Cowritten with his daughter, Cynthia Covey Haller, and published posthumously, Live Life in Crescendo is a life-changing and life-affirming book that befits the generosity and wisdom of the late Stephen R. Covey.
Cynthia Covey Haller is an author, teacher, speaker, and active participant in her community. She is the author of She has contributed to the writing of several books and articles, notably, The 3rd Alternative by Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make, both by Sean Covey.
Cynthia has held multiple leadership positions in women's organizations, served as a PTSA president, as an organizer for refugee aid and a food pantry volunteer, and she is currently working with her husband, Kameron, as a service volunteer for Bridle Up Hope, a non-profit.
She graduated from Brigham Young University and lives with her family in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the mother of 6 children and has 21 grandchildren, giving her plenty of opportunity to "live in crescendo!"

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Episode 045: Anders Ankarlid on A Good Company's Partnership with DfG Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Today's episode is with Anders Ankarlid, Founder of A Good Company, whose mission is to create elegant, thoughtful and sustainable everyday products.
Anders is a serial e-commerce entrepreneur, and a father of three. He has worked in e-commerce for more than a decade, and considers himself a mindless consumption-activist.
In this episode, Anders talks about why he chose Days for Girls International as the nonprofit partner for A Good Company's Bamboo Toilet Paper Products. With each bamboo toilet paper subscription, A Good Company provides a DfG Kit to women and girls around the world.
Learn more at agood.com

https://www.instagram.com/agoodcom/
https://www.facebook.com/agoodcom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersankarlid/

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Episode 044: Rochelle Courtenay on The 2022 Global Period Poverty Forum Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Rochelle Courtenay is the Founder and Managing Director of Share the Dignity, an Australia-based charity, organizing the The Global Period Poverty Forum (GPPF), Oct. 10-12, 2022.
The GPPF will bring together 42 world-class speakers, outstanding researchers and those making a global impact for three days of extraordinary development and learning around how WE can unite to end period poverty. Days for Girls is a participating partner.
In this episode, Rochelle talks about the inspiration for her work at Share the Dignity and what to expect at the GPPF.
Connect:
The Global Period Poverty Forum (GPPF), Oct. 10-12, 2022
Share the Dignity
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Bio:
Share the Dignity was founded in 2015 with the mission to ensure that everyone is afforded the dignity in life that so many of us take for granted. Share the Dignity brings dignity to women and girls experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and period poverty through the distribution of period products. Share the Dignity is powered by volunteers, and through Rochelle’s contagious spirit over 6,000 volunteers have jumped on board to help ‘share the dignity.'
Share the Dignity has donated over 3.5 million period products through multiple initiatives across Australia. Rochelle has won recognition and accolades for her work including Finalist Australian of the Year, Cosmopolitan Humanitarian of the Year and Pride of Australia.
As well as holding biannual collections for period products nationwide, Rochelle is passionate about advocating for change and creating long-term solutions. Share the Dignity successfully advocated to axe the tax on period products, with the GST on period products being removed in early 2019. Additionally, Share the Dignity has been advocating for free period products in schools for years and since then many states have begun implementing programs.
Most recently, after finding out that patients in Australian hospitals were being denied period products and instead being given diapers, gauze, bed pads and towels Share the Dignity has turned its focus to advocating for pads to be provided to patients for free in Australian public hospitals.

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Episode 043: A Conversation with Carinne Chambers-Saini, CEO and Founder of DivaCup Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

Carinne Chambers-Saini, CEO and Founder of Diva, maker of the DivaCup, always knew that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps, as both an entrepreneur and an advocate for women’s health.
In this episode, Carinne talks about how she joined forces with her mother to develop Diva, a modern redesign of a menstrual cup concept from the 1930s. The mother-daughter duo started Diva on a shoe-string budget from their kitchen table and relentlessly challenged a male-dominated industry.
Twenty years later, Diva has taken menstrual cups mainstream and disrupted the sanitary product industry by providing a more sustainable and planet-friendly solution. Diva is now sold in over 40 countries and has sold over 6.5 million DivaCups internationally to date.
Connect:
https://divacup.com/
DivaCup on Instagram
DivaCup on Twitter

Carinne on Instagram
Bio:
As Diva’s CEO, Carinne oversees everything from product design, and marketing, to the brand's philanthropic efforts. In her time as CEO, she has worked with her team to introduce the first-ever menstrual cup recycling program in North America, DivaRecycles. A first-of-its-kind for the menstrual product space, Diva partnered with Terracycle to help reduce waste and carbon footprint impact. Most recently, Diva was one of the first brands in North America to introduce a menstrual health leave policy for its employees, allowing them to have up to 12 days of paid leave a year, apart from their sick leave. Carinne is a trailblazer in the space and leading the charge both as a leader at Diva and as an advocate in the menstrual health space.
Carinne and her company have received notable recognition, winning EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Sustainable Products and EY’s Special Citation Award for Industry Disruptor. In 2017, Carinne was also the recipient of Canada’s Top 40 under 50. Most recently, Carinne received a 2019 RBC Women of Influence TELUS Trailblazer Award, in recognition of her industry-disrupting work with Diva International.
Today, Carinne is a sought-after speaker and panelist at industry events and business conferences. “I want to motivate women to assert themselves – to find their unique voices and dare to follow their passion, facing down fear to fulfilling their true potentials. My hope is they will be inspired by our story – take chances and never give up, even when they’re up against all odds.”
Carinne not only pioneered an unprecedented shift in period dialogue with the launch of Diva, but she also spontaneously launched a documentary project in 2017 known as Pandora’s Box. As said by many, Carinne lifted the lid on Pandora’s Box with the goal to create a conversation around period quality while shedding light on the global stigma attached to menstruation. and she lights on global period equity.

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Episode 042: Nur Kara on Researching Laws and Policies that Support Menstrual Health for School Children Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

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In this episode, Nur talks about her leadership of a project New Perimeter is working on where a team of attorneys is drafting a multi-country study on the laws and policies related to menstrual equity in the education sector, with guidance from Days for Girls’ experts and affiliates.

Connect:

Nur Kara | People | DLA Piper Global Law Firm

nurkara.contently.com

Bio:

Nur Kara is an attorney at DLA Piper LLP (US). She was selected to spend her first year at the firm working exclusively on global pro bono matters. Now, outside of her litigation practice, she continues to work on project development for New Perimeter, the firm’s non-profit affiliate, focusing on menstrual rights and policies, intimate partner and gender-based violence, and women’s education and advancement. She also represents immigrant clients seeking asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, and temporary protected status, among other humanitarian pathways, as well as survivors of domestic violence seeking protective orders. Prior to law school, Nur served as a Fulbright Researcher to New Delhi, India, where she implemented a survey-based study and original curriculum for almost 700 students to address the sociocultural barriers to adequate menstrual health. She has also counseled adolescents on child labor laws and sexual assault in Uganda and worked in global health administration. Nur holds a B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights from the University of Chicago; an MSc. in Health Policy, Planning & Financing jointly from the London School of Economics & Political Science and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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