KCSW distributes feminine hygiene products

LIHU‘E — The Kauai Committee on the Status of Women, or KCSW, donated and distributed feminine hygiene products to three outreach agencies, including the YWCA of Kauai, Catholic Charities and Kauai Economic Opportunity on Wednesday.

“As an educator in the public school system for the past 22 years, I have seen firsthand the burden that period poverty can have on our young girls,” said Kauai’s First Lady Monica Kawakami, a member of the KCSW that led the initiative. “I want to thank everyone involved in this effort to end period poverty and to make sure women of all ages have access to basic, fundamental, women’s hygiene products.”

Approximately 1,500 period products were donated and passed out to representatives of Catholic Charities, the Kauai Economic Opportunity homelessness and housing program, and the YWCA of Kauai. Each group provides support services for women and youths through their respective programs and overall missions to address and serve the health and safety needs of the Kauai community.

Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami reinforced the need for access to feminine hygiene products by remembering the days when he worked at the Big Save markets and watching women grapple with the choice between food for the family and hygiene products based on the budget they had.

“They shouldn’t have to choose,” said Mayor Kawakami. “Women of all ages should have access to basic, fundamental women’s hygiene products.”

The KCSW, recently involved in a sign waving event to herald October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is part of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women that strives to advance the status of women and girls by acting as a catalyst for positive change through advocacy, education, collaboration and program development.

For more information on the Kauai Committee on the Status of Women, visit the website www.kauai.gob/KCCSW.