Female hygiene kits help girls stay in school in rural Kenya

Female hygiene kits help girls stay in school in rural Kenya

Attendance of girls in school no longer put in jeopardy because of lack of sanitary pads

by Claire Loinah

Empowering women is one of the key goals that Farmers Helping Farmers looks forward to accomplishing with its projects. Among the vital factors that contribute to the empowerment and well-being of girls and women globally is access to sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene.

Through Farmers Helping Farmers, girls of menstruating age at Kamuketha and Nkando Primary Schools have been supported with sanitary pads. FHF’s goal through this project was to ensure that school-going children could attend school when menstruating. With hygienic pads, the girls would also feel confident and comfortable in their learning environment.

Kamuketha and Nkando Primary schools are located in semi-arid areas of Buuri. For a long while, the area has been experiencing very low rainfall, drought, and famine that affected people adversely. The effects have been trickling down to the children, and the results have been evident. There have been financial challenges among the families, and this is a crucial factor that has affected easy access to sanitary by the girls. There has been no money to buy basics such as food, and affording the pads has been nearly impossible.

Due to such circumstances, going to school has been a challenge for most girls because they have not been able to manage their menstruation with dignity in the school environment. This was an issue of concern, and FHF was determined to make positive changes. The organization was able to source reusable kits for a total of 69 girls in both schools.

On 5th January, the reusable pads were delivered to the girls. The kit given to the girls contains reusable absorbent liners that are easy to wash and dry up, panties, soap, washcloth, and a carry pouch for storing pads. During the handover of the pads to the girls, the FHF staff had interactive training sessions with the girls on how to use the reusable pads and incorporated training on general menstrual hygiene.

The organization’s reusable pads initiative is very vital to the girls’ education because they do not need to worry about sanitary towels every month. Their school attendance on their period days is also guaranteed, and equally, they will feel confident.

The feedback from the girls has been satisfying. Some have already used them, and one said,” I am delighted that I no longer have to worry about my periods, especially during school days. My mother was also thrilled when I showed her the reusable sanitary pad kit FHF gave me. She was relieved that she did not have to worry about buying me pads anymore”. The situation for all the girls has been similar, and this is the feedback that is expected to cut across them all.

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