Sylvia's Sisters

Description

Sylvia’s Sisters began after Jennifer Taylor developed a friendship with Sylvia Namukasa, an environmentalist based in the rural village of Kirinda, Uganda. Sylvia had noticed that a lack of reusable period products prevented girls from attending school in Kirinda. In 2013, Jennifer and teams of volunteers in Richmond, Virginia were able to send 300 kits of handmade, washable period products to Sylvia’s village.

One year later, Sylvia’s Sisters was officially founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and a few years later, the group transitioned from making pads to purchasing reusable pads in-country from a local manufacturer committed to hiring Ugandan women. In addition to assisting Sylvia with conducting menstrual hygiene educational programs, Sylvia’s Sisters has been instrumental in purchasing rainwater catchment tanks for multiple Ugandan schools, as access to clean water is a necessity to safely wash reusable products.

In 2016, Sylvia's Sisters began providing period products to Virginian menstruators through partnerships with schools and community organizations. Like today, many of these products were provided by local businesses, community and school organizations, and individual supporters via product drives and donations. As of September 2023, Sylvia’s Sisters has distributed more than 1 million period products in Virginia and more than 16,400 reusable pads around the world.