Bend HS senior plans big climb for big cause

Bella Wiener knew she wanted to hike Mount Kilimanjaro again. She last went to Tanzania in 2007 as a fifth grader, but was too young to go to the summit.

But after graduation this June, she’s going back. And for a cause that you might not consider to be of major importance to hundreds of women in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The issue of menstruation isn’t something that most consider a barrier to women,” Wiener said this week.

But in a part of the world where Maxi-pads cost more than a days’ wages, it’s more than a limiting factor. It can keep women out of work and class an estimated three days per month, and 50 days per year.

But for those women, a New York-based social venture is providing another option.

Sustainable Health Enterprises, or SHE, has been working out of Rwanda since 2008. Organization founder Elizabeth Scharpf and three MIT students created a new series of menstrual pads out of natural resources in the Rwandan region. The pads, made primarily out of banana fiber, are about 30 percent cheaper than maxi pads sold in stores.

“We work with a lot of girls who are close to Bella’s age,” said Scharpf, visiting Bend for a presentation Wiener gave at the Patagonia on Wall Street on Thursday night.

“The issue was keeping them out of class due to embarrassment, among other reasons. And one of our mottos is that a woman’s life shouldn’t be shut down every 28 days.”

It’s a motto that’s bringing Bella back to Kilimanjaro. While attending a leadership program at Brown University in Rhode Island this summer, Wiener had to find a cause to raise funds for.

And when she found SHE, a plan came into motion.

“I just thought the problem that they were addressing, and the solution to use natural resources like banana fibers was incredible,” Wiener said.

So to help their program grow in Rwanda, and potentially beyond, Wiener is leading a climb up Kilimanjaro. Her goal is to raise $5,000 for SHE individually, and another $45,000 with the help of the community.

“I think it will really have a big impact, to help them build a place to build these pads, and to educate the girls in Rwanda,” Wiener said.

The idea to plant a seed of knowledge doesn’t fall far from the family tree, either. Bella’s mother, Sara, is known to many in Bend for her philanthropic efforts through her Sara Bella Upcycle store on First Street. She brought her daughter on that first trip up Kilimanjaro in 2007.

Sara’s journey was to help fund an orphanage in Kenya, and at first she was amazed to hear what Bella is hiking for in 2015.

“Whenever I mention it to people, their eyes get really big and they say, ‘Oh my gosh, I never thought of that!'” Sara Wiener said.

But SHE did, and for a founder trying to move mountains for women’s rights in Africa, she’s thrilled that the high school senior will climb a mountain for the same cause.

“I’m really excited that Bella is taking this on,” Scharpf said. “I think she’s an inspiration to all of us, to think about the small or big things that we can do to try and change the world.”

For more information about Bella’s journey in 2015, and to donate, visithttp://kilimanjarosheclimb.wordpress.com/donate/

Shirts and other merchandise for the cause are expected to be available at Sara Bella Upcycle in the upcoming days.