MABEL
Aya is proud to collaborate with Mabel, a charity dedicated to teaching women and children in rural communities to take ownership of their menstrual health and hygiene.
Established by Lauren Mellor, Mabel provides women and girls in rural communities with hygienic solutions for managing their menstrual cycle in the hopes of keeping them in school and at work, while harnessing education to empower women within the community to establish their own sustainable enterprises.
Sadly, a cycle of shame hangs over women in impoverished pockets of the African continent. Educational practices that support positive attitudes towards menstrual health are lacking, perpetuating period poverty. According to UNESCO, one in 10 girls in Africa miss school because they don’t have access to sanitary products.
Mabel offers women in African communities an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, using education to deconstruct misconceptions surrounding menstrual cycles, and materials to empower them in the creation of their own sanitary solutions. Women are taught to sew their own reusable feminine hygiene kits which are sold for their own business enterprise or donated to local schools.
In support of this initiative, Aya has collaborated with Mabel in the creation of a unique jewellery collection, inspired by the iconic Zulu shield. Aya will contribute 50% of profits from the sale of The Shield Collection to the Mabel initiative, an ongoing contribution with the potential to further alleviate period poverty in disenfranchised African communities.
Aya will additionally contribute towards Mabel’s operations within the Zambian community. This dedicated Zambian project strives to generate an accumulation of materials needed by the women of Mugulameno to sew menstrual kits. Similarly, contributions will aid the children of neighbouring Wakasimba in the education of menstrual health and positive feminine hygiene.
