School going girls in Athi River will be receiving free menstrual hygiene products every month in an effort to ensure they remain in school.
This will be through an initiative dubbed ‘The future is Female’.
This is aimed at fighting against period poverty among school going girls within Athi River.
The initiate received a boost after Superior Homes partnered with them in their bid to not only reduce incidences of lost school days but also boost confidence in the girls to be able to share relevant experiences.
The first beneficiaries of the initiative were 160 girls at Kenanie Secondary School in Athi River, who received 480 packets of sanitary towels.
The donation will be done to the school on a monthly basis by Superior Homes Kenya.
“This initiative will go a long way to ensure our girls, who are the leaders of tomorrow don't miss school, and also have the same opportunities as their male counterparts,” Superior Homes Kenya Chairman Ian Anderson said.
Research by Menstrual Hygiene Day, a global advocacy platform for non-profit organisations and government agencies to promote menstrual health, shows that 65 per cent of women and girls in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary pads.
According to a Ministry of Education report, girls lose an average four school days every month, which translates to two weeks of learning each term due to lack of sanitary towels.
“Education is one of our sustainability development pillars and after a lot of research and discussions, we settled on supporting our young girls,” CEO Shiv Arora said.
“We are determined to ensure that no girl will miss school due to lack of sanitary towels, which is a basic need.”
Significant barriers to high-quality menstrual hygiene management persist across Kenya and remain a particular challenge for low-income women and girls.
A previous survey showed that 65 per cent of women and girls in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary pads, only 50 per cent of girls say that they openly discuss menstruation at home.
About 32 per cent of rural schools have a private place for girls to change their menstrual product, while only 12 per cent of girls in Kenya would be comfortable receiving the information from their mother.
