Home » The Pad Project

The Pad Project

Total Pad Sets Distributed Around the World (as of December 2023): 32,754!

The Pad Project makes washable, re-useable maxi pads for girls and women in impoverished areas around the world. These durable and long-lasting maxi pad kits consist of two waterproof base units, four heavy liners and four light liners. They can be washed and re-used many times. We have faithful sewing teams around the country making pad sets to send overseas to girls who desperately need them.

Our Story

The project began after a primary school principal in Kenya asked if we could bring pads for his students instead of our donations of pencils and school supplies. He explained disposable sanitary supplies are not available or affordable in many third world countries. Annual school fees in Kenya are often a big sacrifice and financial burden for a family, especially families with multiple children. When adolescent girls start menstruating in these rural and impoverished areas they often have to miss about a week of school every month due to their lack of feminine sanitary products. This puts them hopelessly behind in school work and often makes them unable to pass the exam at the end of eight grade, the exam that determines if they will get to go to high school or not. For women in Kenya, especially young women, there are very few opportunities if you are uneducated. Many of these girls end up getting married at the age of 13 or 14 because it means someone else will take care of them, and the family receives a dowry for each daughter’s wedding.

What makes this situation even more alarming is that high school boys and men in their area are buying disposable pads and giving them to the girls in exchange for sex. The sad situation that many of these young girls find themselves in is having to choose between dropping out of school or having to prostitute themselves in order to graduate. In Kenya, graduating from high school is often the difference between having a career and a bright future, or going hungry.

These cloth, reusable pads can literally change the life of a young girl. They last around 4-5 years if properly cared for. The pads will be brought to Maseno, Kenya approximately every 6 months, by volunteers who will hand out the pads directly to girls in local schools in Maseno and the surrounding area. The girls also receive education about feminine hygiene, safe sex, associated risks, and respecting their bodies.

The Pad Project has since grown and expanded beyond our wildest dreams. After supplying pads to the initial school in Kenya, it soon became apparent that this problem that Kenyan girls face is much more widespread than we imagined. Girls all across the world living in areas of poverty experience the same problem, with menstruation limiting their chances in life simply because they don’t have access to sanitary supplies. As of fall 2021, Pad Project pad sets have gone to 29 different countries across the globe thanks to the faithful sewing groups that make our pads. Thanks to these sewing teams, we have been able to supply pads to a variety of mission teams, missionaries, humanitarian aid organizations and other non-profits.

How YOU can help:

Sew the pads! If you are interested in starting a pad sewing group in your area, or would like to sew individually, please contact Emma at emma@toolittlechildren.org. She will give you necessary information and get you a starter kit (*if you are in the US), with some precut materials and our pattern. (FYI – She has 3 young kids and manages the Pad Project during nap times and after bedtime, so have a little grace with a slightly longer response time :)

Donate underwear (new please!). We’ve found that pads are difficult to use without undies, and not all girls have these basic, but necessary garmets. We can use all sizes, but girls sizes 10-16 or women’s small/medium, are the most common sizes. You can also donate money to purchase underwear or supplies for our sewing teams.

** To answer a frequently asked question – We ONLY accept pads made using our pattern. That is because our pattern is designed specifically for use in third world countries, meaning they will be hand washed and air dryed, and need to be used again in about 12 hours. This is a challenge because most cloth pads have multiple layers of fabric sewn together, which trap bacteria and make the pad unsanitary for future use when not being washed in a washing machine and dryer. These type of pads also take days to dry. We cannot accept other pad designs or pads made from our pattern that have been modified, because it would compromise the health of the girls using them. Thank you for understanding. **