Imagine waking up on the first day of your period and already knowing you won’t be going to school. Not because you don’t want to learn, but because you have nothing safe to use.
This is the reality for many girls in Kenya. An estimated 65 per cent of women and girls in Kenya cannot afford sanitary pads. That lack of access has led to an estimated one million girls missing school every month. The Ministry of Education reports that school-going girls miss an average of four days of class every month. Many girls turn to old cloth or other unsafe materials, putting their health and comfort at risk.
When a basic need becomes a vulnerability
Period poverty is not only about whether a girl has a pad. It is about who she has to depend on to get one, and what that person expects in return.
At CIFORD Kenya, we have heard this first-hand. Some of the young mothers we work with have confessed that they became pregnant after being preyed upon by men who offered sanitary products in exchange for sex. A child was asked to pay for a pad with her body, and her education and future changed forever.
No girl should have to trade her safety or dignity for a basic health product.
More than a pad
When a girl has the products she needs, she stays in school, stays healthy, and is far less exposed to exploitation. But products work best alongside accurate information about her body, safe spaces to speak openly, and trusted adults who will listen and protect her.
Stand with us
For just $10, you can sponsor a girl with a full year’s supply of pads. That means a year of showing up to class during her period, a year of dignity, and a year of protection from those who would take advantage of her need.
Individuals, businesses, schools, churches, and community groups all have a place in this work. Sponsor a girl, donate sanitary products, or partner with us to reach more communities.
Because every girl deserves to learn, to be safe, and to keep her dignity.
