500 girls in Kisumu West get sanitary pads for a year

Some 500 schools going girls in Kisumu West subcounty have benefited from sanitary pads t last them for a year from a charitable organisation.

For the few months schools have been closed, some of the girls are finding it difficult to access sanitary towels as their parents can't afford.

Umoja Foundation working with schoolgoing children has now scaled up the issuance of pads to girls during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

The programme targets orphans and vulnerable children.

Foundation director Leonard Otiende said they are responding to the needs of girls during the virus pandemic.

He said even in the past, many girls were unable to attend school during their menses due to lack of pads.

“If they don’t have the towels, they feel ashamed and instead of going to school to get embarrassed, the prefer staying home,” he said.

He added that most girls were forced to engage in sexual intercourse and labour to afford the pads.

A local teacher who escorted 27 girls to collect the pads said their performance has shot up since the distribution of the pads started.

Nelly Asewe, who teaches at Bar Ading’o Primary School, said retention of girls in schools has also increased. 

“The performance of the girls has gone up to an extent that in our school, we were joking that they are becoming a threat to the boys. They were top performers in our school,” she said.

She added early pregnancies that led to early marriages have reduced in the last three years.

The girls were elated, saying they had been forced to improvise materials to use.

“Our parents were not able to provide us with these sanitary towels. They would only give you one packet which cannot sustain you for even one week,”  one of the girls said.

Research by Menstrual Hygiene Day shows that 65 per cent of women and girls in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary pads during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For many schoolgirls at home, the avenue to access free sanitary towels is now closed since schools are closed.

Edited by EKibii