Sewing group helping women in period poverty

Members of a sewing group are using their talents to help women and girls in period poverty.

Debi Angell, of the Shropshire group, said the idea came about after they sewed protective clothing during the coronavirus pandemic and were looking for something else to do afterwards.

They now make period kit bags and Angell, of Clun, said: "I'd never thought about how other people manage periods."

"We've got massive choice in supermarkets we just go and buy what we want, but still in so many places there are women and children who have nothing."

The kits feature an over-the-shoulder bag that contains pads that can fit inside a waterproof shield and then go inside pants, along with a flannel, soap and another bag for the used pads.

Some of the material they use is donated and the rest they pay for themselves.

The kit, an idea first developed by international charity Days for Girls that prepares and distributes sustainable menstrual health solutions to girls.

Angell said the bags were "everything a girl needs to manage her periods for three or more years".

Without the bags, she said many women and children would stay at home and be unable to go to school or work.

The aim of the project was "regaining lost days for women," she said.