- Title: KENYA: Re-usable sanitary pads keep Turkana girls in school
- Date: 17th June 2011
- Summary: LODWAR, KENYA (RECENT) (REUTERS) TEACHER ROSE MACHARIA IN CLASS TALKING TO GIRLS ABOUT THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLE VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATION ON HOW TO WEAR RE-USABLE SANITARY TOWELS VARIOUS OF MACHARIA DISTRIBUTING FREE SANITARY TOWELS TO SCHOOL GIRLS (SOUNDBITE) (Swahili) LOKWO LUSSIANO NANGIRO, SCHOOL PUPIL SAYING: "When we were given sanitary towels, it helped us a lot. B
- Embargoed: 2nd July 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya, Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Education
- Reuters ID: LVABMB1OBX7VM0U6HF4E9P4E6BYK
- Story Text: These school girls are getting a lesson on why they should be proud to be women all the time.
In the past, 'becoming a woman' in these parts, or beginning one's menstrual cycle made many girls so ashamed that they would often miss school because they could not afford to buy sanitary towels or pads.
A new project to provide free re-usable sanitary towels to primary school girls in the district of Turkana, northern Kenya is trying to change that.
The project, launched by the Catholic diocese of Lodwar, Turkana's main town and supported by the UN children's agency UNICEF, aims to give out re-usable sanitary towels to more than 5000 school girls and in turn encourage them to attend classes through out the school year.
The project is being spread across the region using volunteers like Rose Macharia who visits schools and teaches girls that they can lead normal lives even when they are having their period.
Girls start menstruating when they hit puberty, and for many it is a normal rite of passage.
In many rural parts of Kenya, where girls' parents cannot afford the commercial sanitary towels and tampons in the market, it can be embarrassing to a point where girls stay indoors for fear of ridicule.
The re-usable pads, which are made of cotton material and a plastic lining to prevent leakage are free.
Volunteers say they can be washed and used for several months.
"When we were given sanitary towels, it helped us a lot. Before I was given these pads, i was really suffering, I couldn't even walk. When coming to school, I used to wear two panties and add a petticoat and when the blood flow became too much, I could then add another skirt on top. At school, the blood could even pass through all the clothes. It then forced me to stay in class during lunch break. I could send a classmate to bring my meal in class. But now, we have been given these pads, they have helped me a lot. I use them a lot, and I wash them well and keep them safe and they help me stay clean," Nangiro said.
Nangiro's mother, Amuria Lokwawi, who has 10 children says any money she gets goes towards feeding her family.
"I put her in school but I do not have money to buy her these other things, because she has now become a grownup. I do not have money to buy sanitary pads to help her because she is a girl. Now that the school has decided to help her, I am happy. I am happy because they have decided to buy her the sanitary pads to help her, because I stay here at home and I am not employment," Lokwawi said.
According to Macharia, girls miss at least one month of school for every three-month term, leading to poor performance and sometimes drop outs.
The project has also created a workshop that employs women to make the re-usable pads.
"We select a few schools that are very poor and we give these girls the sanitary towels that are being made because what we discovered is that we have to get the towel material, cotton material and then plastic material to prevent leakage. And once we discovered that, we had to look for women to do the job and as you can see now doing that work. So in this actually, we are helping women to get some employment at the same time we are helping to keep our girls in school," said Macharia.
Macharia says there are plans to set up more workshops to increase the number of pads that are made, and to reach a greater number of girls.
In the long term, Macharia says the girls will pay 20 Kenya shillings (0.22 US cents) for a full year's supply of six pads and three panties.
Reusable sanitary pads have been marketed in the west as environmentally friendly solutions in place of disposable towels. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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