Sunday 28th May, is Menstrual Hygiene Day, which is an opportunity to break the taboos, end the stigma surrounding menstruation, and raise awareness about the challenges regarding access to menstrual products and education around menstruation.
Around one million girls in Kenya miss some of their education each month because of a lack of sanitary products, and worst still, 25% of girls drop out of school altogether by the time they reach puberty.
In 2022 we launched The Good Period to eliminate period poverty at our partner schools so that girls and boys can enjoy equal access to education and all the opportunities it brings. 15 months later and we are seeing the impact it has had at our partner school, The Walk Centre.
90 girls aged 12-15 at The Walk Centre took part in our pilot scheme, where they received enough sanitary pads each month to manage their menstruation and took part in a menstrual hygiene and sexual health workshop.
Since being part of the pilot scheme, 85% of the girls now feel confident managing menstruation, in contrast to only 47% before The Good Period started.
With the confidence around menstruation growing at The Walk Centre and your kind donations towards The Good Period, we have been able to increase our support to 200 girls across three of our partner schools in Kenya. Everyone taking part was asked to complete a survey before the project started, and 100% of the girls said they do not have access to everything they need to manage their menstruation well each month, both at school and home. Sadly, with 65% of girls forced to use old clothing instead of sanitary pads, it wasn’t surprising to hear, but we want to change this so that every girl can reach their full potential.
“Every girl should be able to manage this very normal process in comfort and dignity and it is appalling that girls are having to miss school because they simply don’t have the tools or education to manage their period. Through The Good Period, by providing sanitary pads to all girls of a menstrual age, we hope that girls will have the confidence and means to enjoy equal access to education like their male counterparts.” Rachel, African Adventures Fundraising Manager.
All 200 girls have started to receive sanitary pads from your kind donations to The Good Period, and we are looking forward to reviewing the survey with them to see the impact it has made on their confidence and attendance.
It costs just £1 to provide one girl with enough sanitary pads for a month, which will help ensure she doesn’t miss school because of menstruation. To help eliminate period poverty, please donate to The Good Period here.
