The Problem
Kenya has been identified as one of the most prevalent locations of period poverty. Period poverty refers to the lack of access to feminine products during menstruation. 65% of women and girls in Kenya are unable to afford basic sanitary products. Because of this, 1 million girls don't attend school each month due to their period, and many drop out upon obtaining their period at 11 or 12 years old. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 girls have engaged in transactional sex to obtain pads. 2/3 of women in rural Kenya receive pads from sexual partners.
Our Plan
Our group is partnering with Femme International and the Grevy's Zebra Trust's Nkirreten Project. Femme International is a group that reaches out to schoolgirls in Kenya. They provide them with the option of reusable pads or menstrual cups, both of which are more sustainable and long-lasting than regular pads or tampons. They also provide educational resources about how to use these products. Grevy's Zebra Trust is a conservation group that protects the endangered Grevy's Zebras. They understood that empowering the people who live in the zebra's habitat leads to better protection of the zebra. Because of this, the Nkirreten Project works with women in rural Kenya. Many women suffer from droughts and starvation, so they provide monetary assistance in exchange for producing reusable pads. This teaches women a skill, provides them with feminine products, and gives them a paying job outside of the home that they can use to feed their family. Our project is dedicated to helping these organizations grow and providing them with funding for expansion. We are trying to fund pads for 10,000 women. Each pack would allow these women to have sanitary products for a year. We are also working with the Nkirreten Project to help them develop an after-program survey to give to women. This would assess the effectiveness of their program so it can be modified to maximize their outcomes.
