Thank you, I can now access Sanitary towel Story and photos by: Valine Moraa
Tina attends Kakenya Center for Excellence and has just completed her grade seven. She is so excited and looks forward to starting her grade eight in January 2018. Tina says she has come to prove wrong a superstitious cultural belief about menstruation that has always been passed down to pubertal girls in her community. “It is usually said that if a woman started her menstrual period at a certain age, then the daughter to this woman will increase by one year of starting her menstrual period. For example, my mother started her menstrual period when she was age 13, so automatically I knew mine will come when I reach age 14. But lo and behold! My menstrual periods came barely 4 months into my 13th birthday, in April this year. Thankfully, it came two weeks after I had attended Kakenya’s Dream health and leadership camp program where i gained knowledge about menstruation and what to do when it comes. The week-long camp which had over 250 girls participating not only built our skills on leadership, girl-child rights and selfTina receives menstrual pads defense, but also had health education sessions where we were taught about self-hygiene and how to use and dispose sanitary towel. Each girl also received a free pack of pads given to us at the camp.” She adds: “I am lucky because I do not have to worry about not being able to attend classes, stain myself or how to get the next sanitary pads while am on my menstrual periods. Kakenya’s Dream provides its students with pads making it easier and more comfortable to manage our periods and concentrate with our studies.” However, there are still many underprivileged girls within Tina’s community who are forced to stay home from school during their monthly menstrual periods because they are unable to afford sanitary towel. Kakenya’s Dream health and leadership program makes monthly visits to neighboring schools in the community and donates sanitary towels to girls to help keep them in school during their menstrual periods.
A group discussion on how to use pads