Mali Rising Volunteer Nancy Did It (and So Can You)!
By Marie Sheneman, Volunteer Operations Coordinator
Nancy hard at work on liners (pads) for our menstrual kits for girls…these kits help our girls stay in school, safe, and healthy!
Do you ever think “I wish I had the time to volunteer” or “I would love to do that, but I don’t think I can anymore”? Volunteer Nancy wants to tell you “Do what you can when you can. Every little bit helps.”
I recently spoke with Nancy about her week-long experience volunteering for Mali Rising. While visiting family in Salt Lake City in March, she needed something to occupy her time while her family was busy. She was encouraged by her daughter-in-law (a Mali Rising volunteer) to help sew liners (kind of like menstrual pads) for the menstrual kits.
At 90 years young, she has a health issue that makes it difficult to see, so she did not know whether she would be able to sew or not. But she could and she “had the best time.” At first, she sewed parts that were straight, then she was asked to sew curved pieces. She responded with, “well, let’s see what I can do.” Well… she did it! She worked a couple of hours a day (with breaks) for a week. At the end of the week, she had sewn over 300 liners/pads. That’s enough to fill a kit for 38 girls!
At the end of the week, Nancy ate dinner with our director, Merritt. At that time, Merritt was not aware of how much Nancy had sewn. Nancy brought Merritt one bag, which made her happy. Then Nancy brought a second bag and then a third bag, which surprised Merritt. Nancy responded with “I was having fun.” Of course, Merritt was excited for all the important liners for the girls.
During the interview, excitement radiated from Nancy’s voice. She was excited that she could do something she thought she could not do anymore. She was excited to do something for somebody else. Although she only volunteered for a week, the experience made a difference in herself and Nancy made a difference in the lives of girls in Mali.
At the end of the interview, Nancy left me with this message she has about volunteering for organizations like Mali Rising:
If you have a chance or can make a chance, do it. You can’t imagine how good you’ll feel. Can you imagine, those of you who still use this stuff [menstruation products] what it would be like not to have it? Do what you can when you can. Every little bit helps. I feel good for having done what I did.
Interested in volunteering like Nancy? Check out our volunteer postings.