My Account
Hibiscus Coast barrister and founder of the Stop Demand Foundation, Denise Ritchie, will return to Nigeria later this month to oversee the delivery of 2000 menstrual cups, donated by Kiwis through a Givealittle campaign.
Each cup costs $10 and the campaign has just passed the halfway mark.
The recipients will be women in two refugee camps – one on the outskirts of the capital Abuja and the other in Maiduguri, in the remote north-east.
“Many of the women in these camps were once self-sufficient, but now face abject poverty,” Denise says
“Resources are scarce and money for sanitary items non-existent. Many resort to desperate, unhygienic means for their monthly menstruation, including making pads from sand.”
Denise says the areas she will travel to are essentially wastelands and she is acutely aware that there is an element of risk involved.
“You have to be careful. I don’t travel without proper support, but you can’t let fear hold you back.”
Denise says the Boko Haram conflict in north-east Nigeria has displaced an estimated one million innocent women and girls.
“Each cup can last up to 10 years and will deliver a life-changing difference in health, dignity and hope.”
Denise says she is enormously grateful for the support of Kiwi supplier My Cup NZ and Qatar Airways, as well as all the people who have made a donation.
The Stop Demand Foundation is a non-governmental organisation that works on global issues of sexual violence and sexual slavery.
The donations from New Zealanders don’t go unnoticed.
Give a little, mean a lot
A $10 donation will buy a cup that will make a profound and practical contribution to the women and girls who are the innocent victims of the conflict in Nigeria. Donations can be made at: givealittle.co.nz/cause/menstrual-cups-for-victims-of-boko-haram
