Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/521232
May/June 2015 45 and PW to support the work of the church in Congo. We formed a team, started sewing and collecting items for kits, and contacted our mission part- ners in Tshikaji. For our June 2014 trip, our North- wood Presbyterian Church team made 50 kits. These kits were delivered to second-, third- and fourth-year nursing students at IMCK. After returning home, we sent another 70 kits in two shipments to supply the first-year girls and the incoming class of students. Mission co-workers and others have been instrumental in helping deliver the kits. A group from Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, North Carolina, just took 40 kits and we're taking 140 more when we go in June 2015. Once that trip is taken, 300 girls and women in the Kasai region of Democratic Republic of Congo will have been given the gift of dignity and the opportunity to stay in school. The kits are facilitating more than education. On our June 2014 trip, we also took fabric and patterns and spent one morning teaching the women of the Tshikaji sewing school how to make these life-changing kits. They were so excited! Beki Gibende, the head teacher at the sewing school, reported that just two months after our first visit, they had already made 30 kits! This program "seeds the market" for talented local seamstresses who can turn this into a sustainable enterprise locally and regionally. With hygiene supplies and informa- tion on menstruation, women around the world will have increased access to education. Presbyterian mission networks and Presbyterian Women's groups can join this effort and continue supporting their sisters across the world with health and education. Melissa Johnson is a wife and mother of three, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, and is an elder at Northwood Presbyterian Church. Notes 1. Rivers of the World (www.row.org) was found- ed in 1995 "to tackle critical needs of unreached parts of the world." This was my second trip and my husband's third. Our trips have all been with ROW but we are supported through prayers and small donations for our projects by our congrega- tion, Northwood Presbyterian in San Antonio. 2. See "Frequently Asked Questions," www.daysforgirls.org. 3. Ibid. 4. Christian Medical Institute of Kasai was found- ed by the Presbyterian Church in the United States (a predecessor denomination of the PC(USA)), and funded in part by a substantial gift from Women of the Church (a predecessor of Presbyterian Women). Top left: Melissa Johnson, second from left, Ahindu Helene, Ngalula Marthe Kabasele, Ruthie Bobb Schaad and Marcia Murray, among others, examine reusable components of the menstrual hygiene kits made by women from Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas. Right: Ruthie Bobb Schaad, Helene Ahindu and Melissa Johnson outside Christian Medical Institute of Kasai, where Days for Girls kits were presented to nursing students. Bottom left: Days for Girls sewing school. s u p p o r t i n g m i s s i o n Editor's Note: Many PW groups also support the "sani-panti" project promoted by Little Dresses for Africa. Learn more at www.littledressesforafrica.org. Photos courtesy of Melissa Johnson