One WINGS Kit Can Change A Life
As Mother’s Day approaches, Gleaning For The World would like to honor the women who have nurtured and supported us by investing in lasting change. Through the WINGS program, individuals have the opportunity to empower young women and entire communities around the world.
Addressing a Hidden Global Crisis
Millions of girls worldwide miss school every year due to a lack of basic feminine hygiene supplies. This challenge often forces students to stay home during their menstrual cycles, resulting in chronic absenteeism or complete withdrawal from school. The consequences are profound, limiting educational achievement and long-term potential.
A Life-Changing Solution
The WINGS program, housed within Gleaning’s Volunteer Center, produces reusable cloth hygiene kits that provide up to three years of use. Each WINGS kit includes washable pads, moisture-resistant shields, underwear, soap, and clear instructions. These kits are donated to missionaries who distribute them during mission trips. They are free to young women and mothers in need.
In addition, we also support the development of sewing centers where women, men, and students learn to sew and assemble kits for their own communities. These skills create a sustainable solution that continues long after our missionaries depart.
Economic Empowerment Through Sewing Centers
Sewing centers often grow into community-led microenterprises, enabling trained individuals to earn income by producing school uniforms, household items, and other necessities. This transformation from aid to enterprise multiplies the impact of each gift.
In East Africa, the Burundi Hope Project serves as a prime example. Churches in Burundi have embraced WINGS as a cornerstone program for supporting widows and children. With initial help from Gleaning, churches can establish sewing houses that, in turn, generate income to reinvest in their own communities. After seamstresses and tailors are paid, proceeds are used to support those in need.
Marie Josee, a widow raising six children, was invited to begin sewing at the project’s first community sewing center several years ago. “To see the help that I’m getting here, I know it’s God that is enabling this opportunity and the provisions we need. The help I have received has given me a heart of wanting to do my best to help others who are in need, and this is my prayer every day to be able to help others.” Marie Josee shares.
The Multiplier Effect of Every Gift
Support for the WINGS program has a ripple effect. One hygiene kit helps a girl stay in school or allows a mother to participate in her community with dignity. The cost to sew and assemble each kit is $25 and is provided free of charge to each recipient. A gift of $1,000 enables Gleaning to establish a new sewing center in a community in need.
This Mother’s Day, Gleaning For The World encourages donors to celebrate the holiday by honoring the women who have shaped their lives, and by helping others do the same in communities around the globe.
How to Contribute
To support WINGS and make a difference, donations can be made by check payable to to Gleaning For The World and sent by mail to Gleaning For The World P.O. Box 645 Concord, Virginia 24538 or securely online by clicking here.
In service and partnership,
