Humber College Women’s Health and Empowerment
Where did you grow up? I was born in Switzerland but grew up in
Kemptville, near Ottawa. I moved to Toronto about three years ago.
Tell us about the work you do?
My co-founder, Ella Marinic, and I started Femme International (FI) one year ago. As a result of a school project for Humber College’s International Development Postgraduate program. We had to design a water, sanitation and hygiene program (WASH) for an NGO in rural Kenya. During this process, we started thinking about how women managed their bodies during menstruation, and we discovered that there was hardly any research and few formal studies on the way girls manage their menstrual cycles and their health, and the relationship to development.
This is an issue we never think about in development but it’s the number one reason why girls miss school. In Kenya, girls miss an average of four days of school each month due to their periods, which seriously limits girls’ educational opportunities. Girls are often unable to attend because they lack access to sanitary products. In lieu of commercial sanitary products, girls will resort to using rags, leaves, and newspapers to manage their bodies – and even turn to prostitution to make the money needed to purchase pads. FI developed a Feminine Hygiene Management program which has two components: education and distribution. We lead girls through workshops to teach them how their body works, and why they menstruate each month. Then we distribute a Femme Kit, which is designed to contain everything a girl needs to manage her period — including a reusable menstrual cup. The cup provides up to twelve hours of protection so they can go to school and not worry about having their period. We partner with a local schools in Kenya. Ella and I run the workshops in the schools, and a local field coordinator, Rachael, who helps us organize partnerships. She helps to facilitate the programs.
Humber College Women’s Health and Empowerment
Who and what have been the biggest influences on you, and why?
As much as I see the importance of an institutional education, my travels and experiences abroad have been the biggest influences on me. I wouldn’t trade those experiences, good or bad for anything; they have made me who I am today and what I’m passionate about. Also Sabrina, my co- founder for Femme, has been a great influence! She was the one who told me about the Humber College program, which led us to starting Femme International. If we hadn’t met, I can confidently say Femme would not exist and I wouldn’t be where I am today.
How do you feel about the critics of Generation Y/Millennials who say that young people today are lazy and entitled?
I read articles about entitled “Millennials” all the time and it gets me so angry, so fired up. We’re doing the best we can in an economy that is the worst since the Great Depression. We might not all have mortgages or pension plans or other markers used by older generations to measure success, but we do have a major work ethic and adaptability, and we’re not given credit for that.
We’re taking unpaid internships. We’re going back to school to specialize and hone our skills. We’re becoming entrepreneurs.
Do you have a favourite quote? What is it?
I am a bit of a quote buff so I have lot. But I like this one from Margaret Singer, which we use a lot within Femme’s merchandise:
“
No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body.
” iAM March 2014 15
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