You’ve got a lot of moxie, kid

Some moments in life have destiny written all over them. For Mia Klitsas, co-founder of Moxie personal care products, one such moment was when she came upon an article about AFRIpads.

In Uganda, many female students don’t attend school when they get their periods. This absenteeism results in the girls missing four to five days of school every month – about 20 per cent of the academic year – which significantly affects their education and their futures. To combat this, AFRIpads provides young women with low-cost sanitary products.

When Ms Klitsas learned about the work of AFRIpads she immediately wanted to help. The obvious thing to do would be to donate her own Moxie products. But, she says, this would have been irresponsible because there is no garbage disposal in the country.

AFRIpads’ sanitary kits are washable, environmentally sustainable and fit in with the cultural values and lifestyle in Uganda. After working with AFRIpads CEO Sophia Klumpp, Ms Klitsas decided instead that Moxie could buy AFRIpads kits and donate them. The result has been a huge success.

“From the sale of our Moxie pad and liner products in Australia, we will use part of those profits to donate the equivalent amount to reusable pads, Ms Klitsas says. “The idea is that every girl will get a year’s supply and, hopefully, by continuing the program we can continue to assist those girls so that they can finish school.”

Since launching the Pads for Pads initiative in July 2013, Moxie has provided more than 6400 Ugandan girls with “deluxe menstrual kits” and helped fund educational programs about menstrual and sexual health. Starting as a year-long program, Pads for Pads will continue into the foreseeable future.

Ms Klitsas’s goal is to help these Ugandan girls reach their full potential. She visited the country in September 2013 to distribute the kits, give talks and participate in the educational programs. Meeting the girls themselves had a significant effect on her.

“They are just divine, they’re so intelligent and beautifully spoken and witty – they’ve got so much going for them,” she says. “It’s heartbreaking to think that they’re held back because of such a basic necessity – a necessity that nobody should have to go without.”

To help raise awareness of the issue, Ms Klitsas has been delivering talks in girls’ schools and business conferences across Melbourne.

“It’s not about making people feel guilty, it’s just about feeling grateful and being aware of these things that are happening in the world. It’s also about appreciating what you have,” she says.

Another positive offshoot of the initiative is that AFRIpads employs more than 50 Ugandan women who previously didn’t have jobs. Many of these women are in their late teens or early 20s and are married with several children. They now have financial independence, so together with being able to send their children to school, some of them are buying plots of land and starting their own businesses.

When people challenge Ms Klitsas about supporting Ugandan women rather that those closer to home her response is simple: women are women and it doesn’t matter where they live. She runs a business that produces sanitary products so the Pads for Pads initiative makes sense. It’s her way of making a positive contribution.

“This has taken me on a completely different journey and now it feels like Pads for Pads is what it was all for,” she says. “I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but after eight years of being in business – which was great, it was fun and I learned a lot – I think: OK, this is what it’s all about. This is the important stuff now.”

Early next year, Mia will return to Uganda to make a documentary with model and TV presenter Kate Peck. The documentary will highlight the challenges women face there and what organisations such as AFRIpads and Moxie are doing about it.

The definition of moxie is having spunk, courage, determination and plenty of sass. Mia Klitsas couldn’t be a better example.