As the world marks International Youth Skills Day, a quiet revolution is unfolding in Kajiado County.
A Pack A Month (APAM), a grassroots initiative founded by award-winning youth advocate Jackline Saleiyan, has just graduated its second cohort of 20 adolescent mothers through its Beads for Pads program.
The initiative, led by Saleiyan, popularly known as Jackie Wa Pads, seeks to end menstrual poverty and transform the lives of young mothers who are survivors of defilement. For many of these girls, it is not just a skills program but a lifeline.
“We have seen cases where girls exchange sex for pads. Others use dirty rags, mattresses, or sit in sand,” says Jackline.
“This is not just a hygiene issue, it’s a human rights issue.”
In underserved areas of Kenya, menstrual poverty keeps girls out of school, work, and community life.
For adolescent mothers, the impact is worse. Most are out of school, stigmatised, and economically trapped. APAM was created to change that narrative.
At the heart of Beads for Pads is a simple but radical idea: dignity through skills. The program trains adolescent mothers in beadwork and jewellery-making.
The handcrafted items serve two purposes: graduates can sell them for income or redeem them for sanitary pads.
“Before this program, I felt like my life had stopped,” says Faith N, 19, a graduate of the second cohort.
“But learning how to bead gave me a new skill, a new purpose, and hope. Now I can support my baby, and I know I’m not just a survivor, I’m a provider. I can even redeem my beadwork for sanitary pads, so I never have to miss a day because of my period again.”
This closed-loop model eliminates shame and restores autonomy. It ensures adolescent mothers never have to choose between food and menstrual health.
Beyond skills training, APAM also runs Kenya’s first youth-led free daycare center. It offers a safe space for the babies of adolescent mothers, enabling the young women to focus on training or return to school.
“We don’t just empower girls with skills, we also remove the barriers that block them from using those skills,” says Jackline.
“The daycare is not a side project; it’s central to healing and growth.”
Since its inception, APAM has distributed over 58,000 sanitary pads, supported more than 40 adolescent mothers, and trained two full cohorts through Beads for Pads.
Jackline Saleiyan’s work has earned her national and continental recognition.
She holds the award - Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW), and has been named among the Top 50 African Women in Development. She also represented Kenyan youth at the United Nations Summit of the Future.
“This isn’t just about beads or pads, it’s about reclaiming futures,” she says. “Every bracelet, every redeemed pad, every daycare moment, these are acts of justice.”
As Kenya battles youth unemployment, period poverty, and gender-based violence, APAM’s model stands as a blueprint for community-led change. This Youth Skills Day, the young mothers of Kajiado are proof that skills can rewrite destinies.
“Dear young people, your skill is not just a means to survive, it is a tool to rewrite your story,” urges Jackline.
“You are not too young to rebuild. You are not too late to start.”
