A year ago, I started planning our Kenya group trip and I knew I wanted it to be more than just an incredible adventure. I wanted us to leave something meaningful behind. That's when I stumbled into the world of period poverty, and honestly, I felt a little embarrassed that I'd never thought about it before. We're talking about 500 million women and girls around the world who don't have access to safe, reliable period products. Girls who miss school every single month. Girls whose futures shrink because of something as basic as a period.

Abby Hay is the founder of Nora Period Care and the Soul Purpose Foundation, and she's made it her mission to change the reality of period poverty—one pad at a time. She just got back from Malawi, where she met the team who manufactures Nora's products, and saw firsthand how ethical production can transform communities while getting safe period care into the hands of the women who need it most.

Abby doesn't just talk about the problem—she's out there doing the work, traveling to places most people will never see, asking hard questions, and building partnerships that actually make a long-term difference. She's also refreshingly honest about what it means to help responsibly and why understanding local culture matters before you ever try to save anyone.

We're partnering with Nora to bring reusable period kits to Kenya on our upcoming group trip—each kit includes four washable pads that last up to 10 years, a cleaning bucket, underwear, soap, and a carrying pouch. Our goal is to sponsor 260 girls for just $10 each. That's a decade of period care for the price of lunch.

How to Support Our Kenya Period Poverty Project

Sponsor a Girl for $10—each $10 donation provides:

1. 4 reusable Nora pads (lasts up to 10 years)
2. 1 carrying pouch
3. 1 bar of soap
4. 1 pair of underwear
5. 1 washing bucket
6. Shipping from Malawi to Kenya

Our Goal: Sponsor 260 girls at the school we're visiting in Kenya in March 2026

Learn more and donate here: lauraericson.com/periodpoverty

All donations go directly through Abby's nonprofit Soul Purpose Foundation to purchase supplies. I'll be assembling the kits in Kenya and delivering them in March with both of my groups. By donating and giving us your email, we'll share updates, photos, videos, and stories of the direct impact your contribution makes.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Cuba: Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026
2. India: Feb 25 - March 7, 2026
3. Kenya: March 25 - April 4, 2026
4. Morocco: April 10 - April 19, 2026

Links & Resources (Abby)

1. Shop Nora Period Care: noraperiodcare.com
2. Instagram: @noraperiodcare
3. Soul Purpose Foundation (nonprofit managing donations)
4. Book Recommendation: The Power of Days (mentioned in episode)

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

Hey everybody, welcome back to Type 2 Travel. I'm your host Laura Ericson and I'm so excited to talk about a project that I've been working on that's really going to make a difference in the world. Today's guest is somebody whose work stopped me in my tracks and made me rethink what giving back through travel can really look like.

A year ago I started planning our Kenya group trip and I knew I wanted it to be more than just an incredible adventure. I wanted us to be able to leave something meaningful behind. And that's when I stumbled into the world of period poverty. And honestly, I felt a little embarrassed that I'd never thought about it before. We're talking about 500 million women and girls around the who don't have access to safe, reliable period products. Girls who miss school every single month, girls whose futures shrink because of something as basic as a period. So enter Abby Hay.

She's the founder of Nora Period Care and the Soul Purpose Foundation, and she's made it her mission to change this reality, one pad at a time. She just got back from Malawi, where she met the team at Grace Pads, who manufacture Nora's products, how ethical production can transform communities while getting safe period care into the hands of the women who need it most. We're partnering with Nora to bring pads to Kenya on our upcoming group trip, and I'm gonna tell you all about our collaboration and how you can get involved.

Abby doesn't just talk about the problem. She's out there doing the work, traveling to places that most people will never see, asking hard questions, and building partnerships that actually make a long-term difference. She's also refreshingly honest about what it means to help responsibly and why understanding local culture matters before you ever try to save anyone.

Talking to Abby gave me so much clarity on why this matters and how our travelers can be part of something bigger than just a safari. stories, what period poverty actually looks like on the ground, and what she wants every single one of us to understand about why periods shouldn't hold anyone back.

So if you've ever wondered how travel can be a force for real change, not just Instagram-worthy volunteerism, this is the episode for you. So without further ado, let's chat with Abby.

Hey adventurers, I'm Laura Ericson and this is Type 2 Travel, where the journey might occasionally make you question your life choices, but the stories are always worth it. Just like Type 2 fun, we're diving into those travel experiences that transform us, challenge us, and connect us. So grab your passport and an extra dose of curiosity. Let's get lost together.

All right, Abby, welcome to the podcast. I'm super excited to chat with you today.

Thanks, I'm excited to be here.

So everyone knows before I get into the main topic we're talking about today, which I'm really excited about, we're gonna do some quick travel questions to warm you up and your fresh off of a trip. I'm excited to hear all about that as well. So what's the destination that's been on your bucket list forever that you haven't made it to yet?

I would say India. And I'm actually going in April, finally. So it's going to happen. Yeah.

awesome. What

part of India are you going to? You might have told me this already.

Ooh, wish I could say Uttrakhand. It's in northern India

near Nepal.

If you could have dinner with any female leader or changemaker, dead or alive, who would it be and where would you take them?

So sticking with the India theme. I would choose Mother Teresa, kind of basic I know, but I feel like based on her readings, I would relate to her even though she did so much good for people and she was Catholic, so she was deeply religious, she also had a lot of questions and doubts surrounding her faith. So I kind of resonate with her in that, and I think it'd be really interesting to talk with her about how she took risks.

I think she was really groundbreaking, so I'd love to meet her. and I would have her at my house because I love hosting, so I'd make her dinner.

⁓

Nice, risky.

What's something you always pack that most people don't think to bring when they travel?

Okay, I'm a book hoarder and I always think that when I'm on vacation, I'm gonna read like 12 books. So I bring way too many books and I carry them around and then I come home and they're still unread.

same.

I'm pretty sure before you left for your trip to Malawi, you told me you were just really excited to like get on the plane and read your book. So did that happen?

I finished one series that I was really into and I did start another one.

you're far better than me. I used to bring books with me and then I'd never read them. And finally I was like, who am I kidding? this isn't happening. I have this really bad habit. I I'm an audio book person. So I buy the book and then I also buy the audio book. And then I listen to the audio book and I physically have the book and I don't know why. I don't know if it's a visual representation of a book that I've read that I like, even though I've never actually.

opened it and read it. It's kind of a weird, thing I have that I need to stop doing.

You know, my husband

does the same thing and I'm probably more practical than him in that way and I'm like, why are you double buying this But he likes to have it on the shelf and he's like, it reminds me, it's this part of my life when I read this book It means something to him, yeah.

Yeah.

I

mean, it's the same concept as people who, want to get a book from the library versus own the book. I think there's probably people that think if you listen to an audiobook, you didn't read the book. I think it's all the same thing in the end. But I'm sure I'm an author's dream, though, double sales. So, I mean, they're not mad about it. All right. Last question. Fill in the blank. I never thought I'd be the type of person who would blank until I started this work.

Yes. Totally.

I never thought I'd be the type of person who would jump into something without a clear roadmap. I do a lot better when I'm given assignments. I'm like a great employee, but I don't feel like I'm naturally an entrepreneur. doing something that requires a lot of, risk taking is not necessarily my strength, but I'm getting more confident in it.

You're an executor.

works well because my husband's the ideas guy we own our business together so it does go well but I'm definitely more of an executor.

Yeah, Lauren, who's my employee, she is the executor. I am the ideas person. Not that I can't execute, and not that she doesn't have the ideas, but I would say generally speaking, like I'm the big visionary. Like I have all the crazy ideas and then I hand them over to her and she just makes shit happen. And I feel like you need that in any type of pairing or in a workplace or even in a relationship. I think it's helpful to have both. Otherwise you just, if you too.

Yeah.

100%.

Executors you might be getting shit done, but you're not probably going anywhere and if you have two Visionaries and leaders and big idea people nothing's getting done. I can promise you that

No.

for sure.

Okay, so can you give us all a quick rundown of who you are and how you got involved in fighting period poverty?

that's a super long story, but I'll give you the abbreviated version. Maybe three ago, My husband and I started a foundation and we were helping local teens and like young specifically women in our areas, with extracurricular or tutoring, also tuition.

We even helped a group do a, a cappella competition and funded that. So we just felt like school's awesome, but extracurriculars can be really beneficial. was so much that my husband and learned from extracurriculars and working with coaches and teachers. So we started funding some of that locally in our areas. And then we kind of individually worked as mentors.

I started doing some work for CASA. I was a court appointed special advocate for kids in foster care and I worked specifically with teen girls. So I got really passionate about teen girls in my local community. Then I read Days for Girls. It's like a memoir by this woman who started Days for Girls and they make.

Reasonable menstrual pads for women and donate them around the world and I was like, dang This is this is like the basis for what girls need to get going maybe girls in my local community in the US Extracurriculars was helpful, but how can a girl even think about going to school or showing up in her community or getting a job if she doesn't have access to period care So I got super passionate about it

Fast forward to last year. my husband and I have a couple of e-commerce businesses and somehow we acquired Nora Period Care. They were a UK brand and they went bankrupt. So we just bought their leftover inventory. was like maybe like five to six thousand pads and a few random things like zippers and stuff. And we had it shipped over to our house.

and I started finding places to donate it. So I donated to my friend's nonprofit in India. She's from India. And she took it to girls in two different schools. And I was blown away by the response. The girls ended up sharing most of their pads with their mom, their sisters, their friends. And that just wrecked me. I just couldn't believe that they were so giving on something when they had so little. And so I realized it wasn't enough for me to do this one time.

give I needed to keep doing it. we decided to get Nora up and running again and we decided to sell reusable menstrual pads, so they're washable pads, to a Western audience and then we'd use 100 % of our profits to donate pads in developing countries and also locally. So that was about a year ago, and now we're fully operating. I'm selling in the U.S., U.K., and Canada and then I'm donating pads.

in other places.

That's awesome.

You know, next month, December, which is basically tomorrow, I'm going to be doing a series on different books around period poverty and women's empowerment. I'm going to do a weekly book. So maybe you'll be buying four books next month.

Yeah, I would love for you to send me that list so we can share it with people and maybe add it to our page, which we'll be talking later in this conversation. So you just got back yesterday from Malawi, right? like it, that's my style. You're just rolling right in.

Totally.

less than 24 hours ago. Yeah.

what initially brought you to Malawi and what were your first impressions when you arrived?

So we recently switched our manufacturing Scotland to Malawi. And part of the reason we did that was to increase job opportunities for women and boost the economy in Malawi. So I've met a few of my employees who work at the factory. And also, I have another employee who does my Shopify and Amazon. Basically, she's a d-

Jack of all trades. She's so helpful. And so I've met her like over video calls, but this is our first time meeting in person. it all happened really fast. we decided we were going end of September and then we were there middle of November. So that felt really fast to plan for me.

Malawi is among one of the five poorest countries in the world and more than 70 % of its population makes less than $2.15 a day. So, I definitely knew there was gonna be a lot of poverty going in. I thought that I would feel shocked and this trip we did not spend.

a lot of time in the villages. was a super quick trip. We mostly were in the capital city a long way. But it wasn't uncommon to see homes without windows. Most of the homes we saw didn't have electricity or running water. And there were tons of kids running around barefoot. So it was kind of, I guess in a way what I envisioned. I love seeing the rogue goats everywhere. here in the US, goats and livestock.

are in fences, but it's like a free for all. There's chickens and goats and cattle everywhere, I love that.

⁓ I think what surprised me most was the lack of regulation, like commercial and residential and not really regular streets, just dirt pathways and everything was just this mod podge where in the US you can't really have that. everything is so regulated here. Basically in Malawi, if you own property, you can build whatever you want on it.

So it kind of shocked me, but I think there's some pros of not having as much regulation.

Yeah, and you, so you went on a safari while you were there, right? How was that?

Okay, Safari was awesome. we did Safari in Malawi, which isn't known for the best Safari, but I think we got really lucky. We saw three lions, a male and two females, just napping away. we got super, super close to them. Again, not a lot of regulations, so you can't just get right up in their business. We were in a car though. We saw elephants and hippos, tons of Impala and monkeys.

But I had really wanted to see zebras and giraffes. So because of some flight issues we ended up spending an extra day in there's a safari not far from the airport. So we zipped over and did a two and a half hour safari. And that's when we saw zebras. Yes, and that was amazing. So tons of zebras, tons of giraffes. We did see a lioness.

Are you... the Nairobi one?

And ⁓ we saw this baby rhino. Okay, so I'm a mom. I have three children. Any animal nursing from its mom is it's the sweetest thing to me. we got right up next to this baby rhino and it was Sticking its horn in the of our car And it got kind of stuck and then it got spooked and it got scared.

my gosh.

So ran to its mom and started whimpering and then it started nursing and it was so cute. That was amazing. It was so, cool.

my gosh.

Yeah, I've heard about the Nairobi Safari. There's actually a guy on Instagram, I think his name is Kevin Droniak. he originally got a little famous from managing his grandmother, her account is grandma Droniak. And she's this 90 year old lady in a nursing home who's TikTok famous. She's hilarious. Anyway, Kevin now does this thing where he

travels in one day in 24 hours. doesn't stay overnight. I think he started doing it in the U.S. and he would fly from East Coast to West Coast and everyone was like, whoa, that's crazy. You know, he'd spend one day in a city and then he would do all the things as much as he possibly could. And then he would go home and he would obviously spend money on a flight, but he wouldn't spend money on accommodations. And it started with really simple trips. But most recently he did the Nairobi Safari. So he,

flew from New York, to Nairobi and literally went on a safari and then got back on the plane and flew back to New York. yeah, and if you're a New Yorker, you're lucky, you have the whole world more or less at your fingertips when it comes to flights. It's very different when you're in like Wisconsin, that would not be possible for us, because we have lots of connections, but.

You could actually do that, yeah.

Yeah, I was like, what you could do a safari in Nairobi? That's insane. But apparently it's great.

minutes from

the airport. Like it was so awesome.

That's good to know. So for people who can't come on our Kenya trip and do the full thing, if you happen to be in Nairobi, just know that you can do a real quick safari. So what did this trip to Malawi teach you about the importance of asking questions and truly understanding local culture before trying to help or build something there? Because I fully relate to this in that I think we are so eager to help, but we don't the needs are.

before we try to jump in with different causes or needs in a community.

Totally. This is something I'm becoming increasingly more passionate about, especially after a trip. So I've listened to a number of podcasts, met with friends who travel internationally and do a lot of Also, Power of Days book is gonna talk about this, of these people I've talked to, books they've read, they really address the importance of asking questions to understand the culture that you're in.

And this happens in every area of life, parenting, religion, cooking, education, where we show up and we say, OK, this is going really well for me. I really like the way that I'm doing this. And I think everybody else should adopt the way that I'm doing this, right? I think that's the quickest way to burn bridges. And I think when we're humanitarian work or just helping

an economy or just helping a group of people. think this includes our children, our friends, our families, families especially. Finding common ground is really important and you do that by asking questions. So I was super aware of this before we went and I just wanted to ensure that we weren't coming in and saying, okay, we're gonna solve all your problems because I have my American way of doing things. I think you should do it that way. So I really didn't wanna have that perspective and I'm really glad I went in that way. Our employee,

Keti, I love her. She's dynamite. and this might be like a, maybe an African culture thing where it's boss and employee, employee thinks they need to be respectful to boss and they don't want to maybe say how they actually feel. So I have spent months developing a relationship with her and really encouraging her to share.

her thoughts. This is not the first work she's done with period poverty. She's been a lot of work helping local girls sew pads. She's also helped with her local community. She helped her mom start a clinic in their area for mothers giving birth. she's done so much. She's getting her master's in economics right now. So I've really encouraged her to share.

based on her experience and knowledge and cultural understanding what it is we need to do and how we need to focus. And so I've just had to ask her a lot to be really vocal on what she thinks. And so luckily her boyfriend was our driver. So we had hours in the car with her and her boyfriend and we just asked them so many questions, even stupid questions like what is that person carrying or how do they make the bricks

And it was really cool because I think that gave her the confidence that she was our leader. And that was just invaluable for sure. So I would say, there's so many examples that we could talk about. One specific example where found that asking questions was really helpful and helped us make a difference quicker. we went to this place called Mazati Haven and it's a school for special needs kids.

that is funded by GracePads, which is our manufacturing partner, and I'll talk about that more later. And most of the kids don't walk or speak much. They have a physical therapist. He is absolute sweetest guy I've ever met. He just loves those kids to pieces. Anyway, basically the school is mostly funded by GracePads, but they require a small fee because most of the parents

of these kids are single mothers and they want the moms to go out and get a job. So they require a small fee for the kids to go to school. They have this awesome plan in place where they're going to start having a private school at the same location. They have this awesome, awesome location where it's at and it's in a higher income area. So basically that's how they want to fund it. they're really trying to make sustainable solutions and

I could look around and see all the things that maybe I thought their preschool should need based on what I think a preschool needs. I have a little girl in preschool. And instead we just ask them, what are your immediate needs? How can we get our community to help equip your preschool? So they have the physical therapist and he's teaching the kids to walk. He needs parallel bars for the kids. Right now he's using a makeshift something or other. I would not have guessed that's what they needed most.

disposable diapers because I wasn't thinking this way, all of those children, even though they're up to age 10, are all in diapers. So that's a huge expense for the preschool every month. So it was just awesome to ask what they needed right away. with the physical therapy stuff, he's planning on having adult clients or patients I should say, come and get services there, which will again keep funding the preschool so they can allow more special needs kids in.

So I just really was glad that we were open to asking what they needed and then act a lot faster when we're not trying to tell them what their preschool needs.

Yeah, absolutely. I relate to this with Cuba in particular, because they need so much in Cuba. we bring suitcases and suitcases of donations. And we've kind of had to rein that in a little bit because we end up with so much stuff when we get to Cuba. And in reality, what they need is always changing. kind of depends on what's available at the time. three years ago, when I started going to Cuba, we would bring things like toothpaste and deodorant and shampoo and toiletries because

Those are things that they couldn't get their hands on or they had to purchase on the black market. Now I would say they have a few more stores and more readily available to them. But then on the flip side, like medicine, they can't get their hands on medicine. And that keeps them from getting a procedure, getting a surgery done, getting a tooth pulled, all of these things that we take for granted, even though they have hospitals and they actually have really great medical care.

they don't have the medicine to treat you. And so you have to bring that in yourself. I never would have known that had I not asked. Another thing in Cuba, generally speaking, they need now is battery packs, flashlights, lanterns, anything you could use in an emergency for a power outage because they have so many power outages I think when they had the hurricane,

Yeah.

you

some of them went over a month without power. And so they didn't have any way to charge a phone. So imagine not being able to contact your loved ones and let them know that you're okay because your phone is dead. now I bring all my old battery packs, even the ones that, you know, to me, I'm like, these to snuff anymore, but they still work fine. I will just bring a stack of them because I go through battery packs pretty quickly.

But things like that, I would never think of those things assume that that's what they need more than anything else. But you just have to ask and it can change. What they need one year may not be the same as what they need the next.

absolutely. I was going to say something that we kept seeing often was these shops that had loads and loads of donated clothes, but then somebody was selling them, which I'm like, okay, we're boosting the economy a bit there, these were all like very American branded clothes, Lakers jerseys or all this stuff.

Yeah.

don't know how or why they're getting into the hands of these shop owners, but crazy amount of clothes when we as Americans are sending clothes over the actually helping can people even afford to buy them because they're not getting donated maybe sometimes they are and the thing is it takes so much more creativity. It takes so much more risk

Right.

to think how can I make a sustainable solution that's long-term economic progress instead of like here, just take this because I don't need it. Now sometimes that's great. We throw money at problems and sometimes that works. But you need somebody on the ground So for you, if you're traveling to Cuba, you're there and you're talking to people and you're getting an idea of what people need. And then you're showing up and you're providing solutions.

If you don't have someone on the ground and someone you can connect with there, it's really hard to know what to give, how to share.

especially because things can get, as to your point, in the wrong hands. So Cuba is the same example. if you go to Cuba I think this has become very common. did a lot of research on donations in before 2020 because I was taking my first trip there that ended up getting canceled in March of 2020. I don't think we have to explain why. But I had a whole suitcase of donations and there wasn't a lot of information.

So.

on the topic at the time, but now I feel like I'm in a Cuba Facebook group and everybody kind of knows when you go to Cuba, you bring stuff. that's just what you do and that's great. But I think a lot of people are like, yeah, I'm going to bring stuff. who am I giving it to? Am I giving it out in the streets? Am I just handing a whole suitcase to my host at my Airbnb? Is there an organization I can give this to? A lot of times I think people want to give it to a school.

harder to get those things in the right hands because if you get them in the wrong hands, a lot of times they do get sold. yeah, like you said, you could argue, well, it's boosting the economy and it's still things that are there and circulating around, but a lot of people can't afford to buy those things then. So you give a suitcase of ibuprofen and Tylenol to the wrong person.

and then now they're selling them to Cubans and they can't afford it.

the way we've donated in Cuba has drastically changed over the years because now you can get in trouble for giving things out in the streets and giving things out in the streets can often cause more begging. And sometimes the people that are begging don't actually need it it's, hard. everybody wants to help and they don't know how and they don't know if they're doing the right thing or if they're making the problem worse or if they're even solving any problems at all. And so it is a really, really challenging thing because

Everybody wants to do something right, but sometimes we're hurting more than we're helping and so it is really important to not just do your research but know people that actually know what's going on and are well connected and know the right place to give things and have the contacts you don't know if your Airbnb host is gonna just sell all that stuff too Or if they're stockpiling it

It's hard to trust, especially in a culture that's very desperate and everybody's looking to get by. So for listeners who may have not heard this term before, because I've talked about it and I see blank faces when I say can you explain what period poverty means and paint a picture of what that actually looks like?

percent.

period poverty refers to those who don't have reliable access to menstrual hygiene products.

About 500 million girls and women worldwide lack access to adequate menstrual products and facilities. And only 39 % of schools globally are actually providing menstrual health education. So something that can be incredibly shocking to a 12-year-old girl is she starts bleeding one day. And she didn't know that was going to happen. She's going to be having cramps. She feels sick.

I mean, if I'm her, I'm like, okay, I think I'm dying. Like this is terrifying. And if you don't have a family who is willing to talk with you about it, because there's so much stigma around menstruation, not even gonna go into the details of the history of why that happened, but it's like this concept of being unclean. So anyone who has red Leviticus or...

or just knows anything about Old Testament practices, super common for blood to be unclean, then you double that with the blood of menstruation, which people can be really uncomfortable with. women face a lot of challenges. If you do read the Power of she tells stories of girls who, when they're menstruating, can't be in their home, so maybe they're,

down the street or out in the woods and they're bleeding on boards, like wooden boards, and they don't have clean water, they don't have anything to manage their periods so they can't go anywhere. then they become victims of rape or maybe there's like snakes around. Anyway, so she talks about a lot of the issues that women face who don't have period care. I define period care as just like pads or tampons.

or period underwear or cups or disks, whatever you need to manage your period. We primarily focus on pads because culturally, in a lot of the countries we work in, pads are just more culturally acceptable. People don't really use anything internal. So that's why we're focused on pads.

And I know in the context of this particular topic and this podcast episode and our project, we're specifically talking about menstruation for women. We acknowledge that there's other populations of people that menstruate as well. we're going to talk a lot about women. And so I just wanted to address that, this specific project we're going to talk about that's coming up in Kenya is related to helping support.

menstruation for young girls and women. that topic, this is a question I was gonna ask later, but you brought it had people ask this when I say, you know, we're bringing pads to Kenya, they'll say, well, what about tampons? What about discs? why can't we bring those things? I've brought tampons to Cuba previously, and they don't know what to do with that. they won't use them. do you have an explanation?

is there a reason for it? is it just culturally unacceptable?

so we've donated our pads in Africa and India. My friend who I work closely with, who is from India, she just said people are really uncomfortable with it culturally. She didn't really go into much detail as why. especially in Malawi, it's very conservative religiously.

And so I think that's another element. I will say another big reason that people don't use anything internal is cleanliness. if you don't have a shower or a way to wash your hands. So I'll just say, we would eat at nice restaurants and most of those restaurants didn't have soap or the sink when it turned on. So I'm just saying if that's at a nice restaurant, people's homes, they're probably not washing their hands a lot. They're not having access to that.

Mm-hmm.

So I know for myself, if I'm using a tampon or a disc or a cup, especially discs and cups, you're gonna want to be able to wash your hands. I think that's another reason, and I think using something internal can introduce infections. So culturally, it's not something that these groups of women are using, and I also think that hygiene is another big reason.

Yeah, no, that makes total sense. first time I went to Kenya, went to a school and kind of back to you saying you need to ask questions and find out what the need is. Because we were going to a school, I stopped at a store along the way, just kind of as we were on our journey in Kenya and I bought a bunch of school supplies.

I asked how old the kids were and we all kind of went in on it together in our group. And so we got to this school and we gave them the school supplies, gave stuff to the teacher. And I think at this point I talked to the teacher and said, I'm planning to come back with What can we bring? Do you need more school supplies? Do you need more of this? Do you need more of that? And that's when she told me, we need pads.

And I was like, okay, I had no idea. And she told me that it was because the girls miss school. They miss so much school to the point that they either get really, really behind or potentially don't even complete school. Because I mean, if you imagine as a woman, we're bleeding once a month for three to seven days, that's a lot of school for a girl to miss every single month. And that cumulatively adds up

to enough school to be detrimental, obviously. So I had no idea. that's not something even as someone who travels often, that was not something that I was familiar with, had ever heard of. And when I tell other people, generally speaking, I'd say everyone else is like, what? That is just unheard of. that's something that we can't even fathom in the United States. So aside from that, do you know of any other specific challenges that girls in Africa in particular face when they don't have access to mental care products?

that definitely missing school is a big one, which is why when we were in Malawi, we distributed pads at a school. it was shocking. I have been doing the research, I've been reading books, I've been talking to people, interviewing people. I asked Keti, my employee, about her experience as a young girl and the challenges that she faced, but seeing it in real life shocked me. So we went to the school.

was very formal. It was so cute. the girls carried out all these benches and chairs and we sat outside in this beautiful tree. It was a beautiful day. And we had a nurse with us and she was all official in her nurse outfit and she started teaching them about menstruation. It was all So I had my friend sitting next to me do a little bit of translating.

And basically she was just asking the girls do you know about menstruation? Can you tell me about the different female parts? And some of them had some vague understanding, but you could tell there were a lot of looks of like, wait, what are we talking about? And these girls are, some of them are 16, 17 years old. So they've probably been having their periods for a few years. And then they acted out this skit for us. And in the skit, one of the girls,

was sitting at home looking all grouchy and she was saying, can't go to school today, I'm on my period. And this is something that happens for them often. And then her friends, said, it's okay, Nora is coming and they're gonna give you pads. And she was like, awesome. So then they all skipped to school together because she could get pads. But there's nobody else giving her pads. She can't ask her dad to buy her pads. her dad is trying to make enough to get food on the table.

And also there's so much stigma, she can't ask him for that. She probably can't really talk to her mom about it. where else does she go? So a lot of the girls, we ask them, okay, what are you using then if you don't have pads? So they'll use pieces of fabric, fold it up. And a lot of them are local fabrics, which aren't incredibly soft. So what we've been told is that that'll cause a lot of rubbing, chafing, they can start bleeding, then they...

kind of walk funny, the boys will tease them. This school was co-ed, so they did have boys there. Or they said they use, wool. And I'm trying to figure out exactly what type of wool, if it was, yeah, I know, I'm like that, mm, that's not gonna work out well. And not to mention, you don't have any waterproof barrier if you're using any type of fabric. So the, no, and also they all walk to school.

Oof.

It doesn't seem like even functional.

I'm not sure how far, but I imagine pretty far. You're sitting in class, right? There's no air conditioning. On the rainy days, it's super humid. all of it just sounds not great. Yeah. So it was just really shocking to see that, if we didn't go to that school on that specific day, each of those girls would have kept, not having what she needed. And I just can't even imagine that. I think maybe the reason we don't

Yeah, uncomfortable.

think of period poverty is because for me, I've been having my period since I was, I was a light bloomer, 14, okay? So I'm just used to it now. I know what I need to use. I keep what I need around. I use Nora pads now as well. it's not even something I think about. My life just goes on. And that is something I'm so grateful for. it's not.

something that scares me or worries me every month. And for my daughters, it won't be something scary or worrisome to them because they're going to have what they need. They're going to have the education that they need. I would say another big issue, and this is just around gender inequality in Africa, but there's a lot of issues of gender-based violence. I think when maybe you don't have access

to period care, can't manage your period, you don't feel like you're worth figuring out managing it, you don't feel like you're worth talking to someone about it. I think it really diminishes your confidence and dignity. And I think in a way makes you feel like I'm not deserving of my choice, I'm not deserving of feeling clean, feeling comfortable. And I really think that contributes to

Just a lack of confidence and willingness to have a voice. And so we're talking about school. The girls can't go to school. But also, for women who are out of school, what does your employer say when you're not showing up for five days, right? So there's a lot that these girls and women face.

let's go and talk about the stigma around period. So it's 2025. We live in the United States. There's still, stigma around period. Why do you think that is and how do you think we change it?

Again, like I said before, a lot of religious cultures are very concerned about menstruation can make you unclean. I think it's used as a power tool. So African culture is very superstitious. They have a lot of beliefs in witchcraft or curses. So one example that Kety told us was that

A girl who washes her pads or fabric or whatever she's using in the same sink or bucket that her father uses is gonna be cursed with infertility. So that's so manipulative. Obviously these women don't wanna be burdened with infertility, so then they're gonna try and figure something out, but if you only have really one place to wash in your house, then how are you figuring that out?

I think it's a power and manipulation tactic to scare people.

I a stigma in lesser developed countries, but even in the United States, I don't think it's something we talk about. It's gross, it's something that exists, and we all know it's there, but we don't talk about it. It's not something that is, I think, culturally acceptable to talk about.

Yeah,

it's 2025 and we all breathe air, right? there's nothing wrong with talking about that. And we all need to eat food. And there's called Everyone Poops. women bleed. why are we afraid to talk about it?

Well, every person on earth was born of a vagina that bleeds, right? Or maybe they were C-sectioned. But I'm just saying, like, menstruation is the way that our population grows. It's the way that human life exists. And month after month, you shed your uterine lining and you bleed. And you have cramps and you have mood swings and hormonal changes.

It is for some reason touchy. feel like overall in the US, there's a little more information about women's health. Like menopause is getting a lot attention. Yeah, perimenopause is getting a lot of attention. Yes, but you know what? It's about damn time because you've menstruate for 40 years and then all of sudden you just don't feel like yourself.

like paramenopause is having its moment right now.

If all these homoeronal changes, you're spotting, you're having irregular bleeding, you're having hot flashes, you're having brain fog, you're not sleeping. Those are also symptoms of PMS, right? But it's like, it really never ends. And I think we need to have more education surrounding it. Like PCOS does not get enough attention. There's not enough information about that. Think about pregnant women.

I have a friend who has HG, and I'm going to get really passionate about women's health here. HG, hyperemesis gravidarum. She was vomiting 50 to 60 times per day during her pregnancy and was put on a feeding tube. And when she first went to her doctor, like, yeah, you're going to feel nauseous. She's like, I don't think this is normal. Right? So women get treated the exact same way with PCOS. They're having a lot of issues with acne or really intense cramping.

my god.

or maybe they're having infertility and it's their doctors like that's normal just give it a year you know and for some reason I think we say you're just bitching and moaning about this because you're a woman right but that's yes we are freaking strong

Yeah, we downplay. I mean, have you ever seen,

I don't know, I've seen it on shows where they simulate period cramps with men and they lose their fucking minds. they can't handle it. They cannot hang. I think men have no idea. women do have such a high tolerance for pain.

you

comparatively and so when we're complaining it's usually because it's something like really wrong.

well we're just

used to it. It's part of our life. think of anyone who has a consistent job, so 20 % of your job you're either cramps or you're bleeding or like what about professional athletes? I feel like as a woman I get so annoyed, well annoyed might be the wrong word, but I tell my husband I'm like you have not had anything interrupt your fitness. Like we both love exercising and he doesn't get, I mean maybe he gets cravings, but not like I do.

with PMS or like all the pregnancies. I've had five pregnancies. I have had three children, but five pregnancies. And I gain all this weight, I lose all this weight. I have all this stretchy skin. I have all these cravings. And then I have my period every month. then I'm not energized. I don't want to get up in the morning and I'm bleeding. And so you just have all these barriers to just doing regular life. So bare minimum, we do regular life menstruating.

Mm-hmm.

20 % of the time. And then you have all the hormonal changes during your cycle that are gonna make you feel all sorts of ways. So I just think for me, what I'm trying to do to fight the stigma personally is having conversations with my children, my family members. It was so cute because I had a bunch of pads, we got some samples from the factory about a month ago. And my five year old son had a friend over and his friend's like, what are those? And my son's like, ⁓

Mm-hmm.

They're a period pad. He was telling his friend about it. And I'm like, I love that. I want my son to be the type of kid who carries menstrual products with him. And if he has a cute friend who's struggling, he can pass her a tampon. You know what I I just think that helping people see it's super normal. month. I also do tracking. And that helps me so much to know, OK, today is day 22 of my cycle. I'm going to start experiencing PMS symptoms. So.

The fact that I'm feeling overstimulated and anxious is actually more a sign of my hormone shifts fact that I'm losing my mind. So I think it's really good to take ownership of your period and of your cycle and then frank about it. If you have a loved one who you spend a lot of time with, for me, that's my husband, I'm like, hey, day 22, you gotta back off, because I'm gonna start getting really frustrated. So I just think, just making awareness for yourself and having conversations.

with the people around you can hopefully help break the stigma.

absolutely. Let's talk a little bit about your pads. So, Care, did you first become connected with Grace pads?

We wanted to manufacture in a place that could help grow the economy, provide jobs, and we wanted to be super involved in the factory and make sure that our employees were treated well. So we said, okay, Keti, why don't you look around Malawi and see if anyone's making pads? We landed on Grace Pads. They've been making pads for about 10 years. They sell at cost to NGOs.

Part of why we wanted to manufacture in Malawi is we wanted to have a greater impact regardless of how many pads we sell, we wanted to be able to provide job opportunities. So I think a lot of companies say, I'm gonna pick the most economical and the easiest place to manufacture, China. We specifically and very intentionally chose Malawi.

And my dream is that we could set up small hubs in other developing countries where we could train the women on how to the pads and then also help distribute them in that local area. So this is like dream long-term vision.

we connected with GracePads about a year ago and it was very clear upon meeting them that our visions aligned. instead of a traditional supplier relationship, we entered into a true joint venture with GracePads. Through this partnership, we're helping supply new machinery, training new employees.

and helping them get a more sophisticated manufacturing process. We're also helping them change their original pad design. They were kind of ready for an update. So the pad that will be distributed NGOs, which is a non-government organization, basically non-profit, will be branded with their colors, but it will be our design, which I personally think is more comfortable and more long-lasting.

So our pads last about 10 years, which is awesome. As Nora sells pads in a Western market, whatever we make, we'll go back to contributing to the Grace Pads cost and help them donate locally in Malawi. And then we'll also be donating in other countries. The model that we've created has already helped us donate thousands of pads in Malawi and India.

taking two groups to Kenya. We always do give back activities on my trips whenever we can. so for Kenya, it made sense based on my experience there last year to bring sanitary pads. This is before I had talked to you, met you, knew you existed, knew Nora existed. And I think I had posted a clip from a previous podcast episode where I was talking about period poverty in Kenya. And I had no idea when I posted that clip that

anyone was gonna be taking notice of it, but I had a lot of people message me and they said like, hey, I wanna help or I know somebody who can help. a lot of people were very interested in it that's actually how I got connected with you. at that time, my plan was just to bring packs sanitary pads. I I mean, it makes sense that there's reusable pads, but I never thought of thought never.

crossed my mind that it would be far more helpful to bring a reusable product that somebody can use over and over and over again. Because yes, it's nice to bring girls pads, but if you bring them the disposable ones, obviously they're going to burn through that bag of pads in, a month or three months or however long. And then the cycle continues, no pun intended. they need to keep getting more pads. And so I think it's brilliant to have

reusable pads, it's no different than period underwear, something that is definitely more friendly for the environment and then way more purposeful for them. I think you said up to 10 years potentially, your pads can be reused. And so if we're giving girls multiple pads that they can have for 10 years or more or share with others, that is gonna obviously go way, way further than even if we brought like 50 bags of pads.

Okay, I'm with you in that before I discovered Nora pads, I had known about period under where I used it. I especially used it postpartum. But I hadn't really thought about it as maybe a long-term solution for someone. So I am gonna show you the pads just because I'm gonna brag. But so the outside, this is a waterproof layer, which obviously you can tell why that's important. Inside is microfiber super absorbent.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ And then this layer against the skin is this soft honeycomb layer also really absorbent And they basically snap in To the gusset of your underwear. Yes. I have learned the word gusset Just like a pad would write that it's gonna stick to it. So under wears really important which is why

in the kits that Laura's gonna be taking with her group to Kenya, they're including underwear and that's something that totally went over my head until a few months ago. I realized the pad is not helpful unless there's underwear. So the kits that she's taking are gonna include four pads, which they do dry really fast so the girls can keep them clean and have a new one ready to use. And then underwear, a bar of soap, which...

Mine too.

Holy smokes, the biggest cheer we had for the whole distribution of the pads was when I pulled the soap out. Those girls got so excited, which broke my heart because they just don't have soap. So super duper important for them to have soap. And then we showed them how to wash the pads. I have to say, they clean out so well. They don't even stain, which surprises me so much. The material that we've very intentionally chosen doesn't stain.

and they rinse out really well. So they're totally hygienic, especially if they're getting washed properly. That's something we include in our trainings when we distribute the pads is teaching the girls how to wash them correctly. And then, if they care for them correctly, then they're going to last up to 10 years. So obviously, better for the planet. The waste systems in Africa are different than they are here. And so not having the waste is super important. They're also better for your skin.

PFAS-free, P-F-A-S as people say, but it's pronounced PFAS, I And chemical-free, dye-free. So it's just the best possible fit for the girls and it's gonna keep giving back to them month after month.

while we're talking about it, our plan is we're taking two groups to Kenya in March. Group one is full, although if people want to join, you can message me. But group two still has a few spots on it. Group one's coed, group two is women only. And we will be going to a school and giving out these period kits that we're putting together. Each kit will have four pads from Nora. then we will also be giving them a Nora carrying pouch, which

You can store one clean one and one dirty one and then they can wash that pouch as well. then we'll give them a bar of soap and a pair of underwear. And we're going to be fundraising these kits for $10 a piece, which will cover all of the things I just mentioned, plus the cost of shipping from Malawi to Kenya. And then when I get to Kenya in March, I'll be putting together all of these kits. Our goal is to...

raise enough money to sponsor, what, 260 girls, based on the school we're going to and the girls that are around menstruation age, So about $2,600? I'll be putting info in the show notes about how you can get involved and how you can donate. And of course, you have other ways of getting involved that can help support the cause, I'm totally open to that too,

This is just a really easy way for people to do something that doesn't have to cost a lot. You could sponsor one girl $10. It's the holiday season and it's the season of giving. People like to sponsor kids in all kinds of ways. So this is really easy way to do something that doesn't have to cost a of money. If you want to sponsor 10 girls or 20 girls or 30 girls, that's great too. But just sponsoring one girl could take care of her period needs for the next decade. I think that's money really well spent.

I'll be putting, that info in the show notes and gonna have a website that you can click on the link and it will explain the project we're doing, what's included, and how to get involved. you the money will be going through Abby's non-profit and that'll be funding, Abby purchasing the supplies in Malawi and then me purchasing the rest of the supplies in Kenya so that we can put together these kits for the girls.

Nora Period Care is owned by my personal nonprofit Soul Purpose, so that's what the link will be on Soul Purpose. And also what Laura's doing is awesome by putting together these kits that make a tangible difference. over the last many years of my life I've been trying to support nonprofits

Mm-hmm.

And they're like, give us this $100 monthly donation. And I'm like, where is that I want to see exactly what's happening. What is awesome is Laura goes on a trip in March, and she's going to come back with pictures and videos and testimonials and stories of the difference it's made for these girls. And it's immediate. So you're going to see the impact of your $10 contribution or whatever you choose to give right away. And it's something I personally have done a ton of research on.

I can see how it's actually contributing to women's education, employment, empowerment, and I think that's awesome in having something that you can say, okay, this is actually making a difference, and it's not just going to overhead costs or whatever. We're super lean over at Nora. It's pretty much me and my husband and Keti, and then our factory. you can be confident that this is going directly to the girls.

Yeah, and it is my biggest pet peeve. Not my biggest, that's dramatic. But one of my biggest pet peeves in life is when people are either running contests or doing fundraisers and they're not either telling you who wins or what happened. There's no outcome. it feels like you're almost being tricked. And I don't like when somebody's trying to get money and they're not telling me what they're using it for.

And then there's no follow through on where did that money go? What was it used for? How did it help? people want to see that. They want to see that when they do something, it goes somewhere. And so we will be following up and showing what we did in Kenya and how it helped. And I'm sure we're going to be stopping our eyes out at some point. And I'm excited to share the stories though and get more involved in this because This is our first trip to Kenya, but this won't be our last.

Yeah.

So this is something that we can do ongoing and this is just the beginning. So I'm really excited to see what else we can do in the future. and one more thing I wanted to add too is that my groups that are going, not only will we be these kits out to the girls, but there is gonna be, an educational component. We're not just gonna hand out these period kits and like, here, read the card, good luck. I'm not a medical professional and.

I know that there are some in my group, so I am going to hopefully pull them in to support me. But worst case, I'm going to be teaching a little period care class with the girls. I'd love to get some of the people in my groups involved that have maybe a little bit more expertise in this area than me, but I'm planning to take the course that Abby gave me so that we are capable of teaching these girls the basics of what they need to know around period care so don't feel this stigma and the shame involved in.

taking care of their periods and they just know what to do with the things that we're giving them.

Last question here before we jump into our game closing up, how can listeners get involved in supporting menstrual equity in the work that you're doing? Aside from the project that we're supporting here with Kenya.

I think another way aside from supporting financially is we talked about normalizing menstruation and breaking stigmas. So teach your daughters that as a woman it's a gift to have their cycle, that they're strong, that they're powerful, and teach your sons to be respectful and supportive of anyone who's menstruating and

not to tease or mock or put anyone down. I don't think that menstruation is something we should be ashamed of. I don't think that hormone changes is something we should be ashamed of. I think we should normalize hormones that women and men experience altogether. everything we sell in Western market,

goes directly to helping us distribute pads internationally. I would say if you're interested in trying reusable pads, buy a Norapad. And I'll also link our site there. I personally think they're great. They're better for your body, better for the environment. And every single dollar that we make by selling Norapads contributes directly to period equity around the world.

Abby was gracious enough to send me some Nora pads, which I used, and I think they're great. ⁓ I don't want to send something to Kenya that I haven't used myself, and so I wanted to try them, and I think they are really great option. They're high quality, so I highly recommend them if you're somebody that likes to use period underwear or anything like that. They're a great alternative. So our closing game here, because we've got to send you on a high note.

I'm gonna give you a category and then you tell me the first country or place that comes to mind. You ready for this?

Pressure for someone who's indecisive. Okay.

I

know, get, girl, I relate, I can't even order lunch because what if I make a mistake? ⁓ I get it. So on that note, what's the best food you've ever eaten?

Seriously.

Wow.

Okay, this is hilarious because it's not international at all In Nebraska where I live for a minute in Lincoln. There's this restaurant

I really enjoy fresh herbs or fresh vegetables that are put together in really unique ways. And I'm obsessed with beets. Every time you go to this place they have a different type of beet salad. It's like beet and citrus, and it has

roasted beets and pureed beets and arugula and balsamic and goat cheese and all my most favorite things on earth, so That makes me pretty boring, but I love the unique ways that she pairs Different veggies and I find it exciting. They also have a rotating menu so when we lived there I was there literally every month, so that sounds really lame I'm hoping that when I go to India I eat some delicious curry because I'm absolutely obsessed with Indian food

But I haven't had it in India, so I have to find out.

Yeah, curry is good in India for sure.

which country has the most beautiful landscape?

is the one.

a place that completely surprised you.

I would say Africa, everything was surprising.

Where would you take your kids on their first big international trip?

New Zealand. You can tell I love New Zealand.

I've heard good things. What's next on your travel bucket list?

Like I said before, going to India And then we're also popping over to the Maldives for a couple strips at the end of that. Yeah, well, if we're going to be all the way over in India, yeah.

Ooh, just poppin' over.

That's it. Yeah.

Awesome. All right, so Abby, where can people find you if they want to learn more about you or Noura Period support the work that you're doing?

noraperiodcare.com or on Instagram, noraperiodcare. I think that's also our Facebook and TikTok.

Awesome. And like I said, we're going to have in the show notes info on the fundraiser we're doing for Kenya. The website for that is lauraerickson.com backslash period poverty. You can sponsor as many girls as you want share that with your friends, family, coworkers. Our goal is to sponsor over 200 girls. So definitely going to take a village to put this together. So thank you, Abby, so much for sharing all of your wisdom and knowledge about

everything that you're doing and thank you for the work that you're doing and I'm excited to partner together on this.

Thanks, this has been awesome. Thanks for letting me have a chance to share what I'm doing and also just be a part of the amazing work that you guys are doing.

All right, we'll talk to you soon.

That's all for this episode of Type 2 Travel. If you're loving these conversations, hit subscribe or follow, give us a 5 star rating, and share with your adventure seeking friends. Remember, the best stories rarely come from staying in your comfort zone. Until next time, this is Laura Ericson reminding you that your passport is collecting dust, your PTO is piling up, and the world is out there waiting for you to explore it.