Healing the stress rural girls go through for pads

Since one cannot survive without eating, families make sacrifices. These include sanitary towels, forcing girls to improvise.

They turn to cotton wool, tissue paper, torn blankets and rags. In their desperation, they even turn to sex-for-pads.

“The stress we go through to get these pads is overwhelming," a pupil at Vihiga Primary School told this writer.

“Since the outbreak of Covid, we have been struggling to get pads during our periods as most parents cannot afford sanitary towels.” 

Data from the Health Ministry last month ranked Kenya third in the world in cases of teenage pregnancies.

The data, released by Health PS Susan Mochache, said one in every five adolescent girls in the country is pregnant or already had their first child.

The report further said at least 98 children aged between 10 and 19 are infected with HIV-Aids on a weekly basis in Kenya.

“One in every three mothers visiting antenatal clinics across the country was an adolescent between the ages of 10 and 19,” PS Mochache said.

The challenge of teen pregnancy, however, hits differently for girls in rural areas. 

The lack of essential basic needs like sanitary pads has forced many girls in rural settings to engage in premature and unprotected sex.

Most of them are lured by cash incentives that they are in dire need of to sort their needs, which their parents cannot afford.

Once you are in a financial crisis as a parent, you focus on what kids will eat and tend to ignore other basic needs that have now led our girls into opting for plan B

PERIOD POVERTY

Aisha Mutebi, a parent of a pupil at Vihiga Primary School, said a good number of girls in rural areas seem to fight their own war in getting sanitary towels.

Mutebi says most parents have focused on the basic needs of food, ignoring basic girl-child needs.

“Most parents were heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic that led to mass job losses globally, leading families to financial crisis,” Mutebi said.

“Once you are in a financial crisis as a parent, you focus on what kids will eat and tend to ignore other basic needs that have now led our girls into opting for plan B."

Gideon Akuno from the Emuhaya subcounty says most young girls in remote areas are trapped in premature sex as they struggle to get pads.

“Poverty is a major disease in these rural counties, and most parents tend to fight for food and other basic needs, which has kept the girl child in an awkward position when they are experiencing their periods,” Akuno said.

To bridge the gap in the war against teen pregnancies in rural counties, an Indian NGO, the Together for Better Foundation, has come to the rescue of vulnerable girls who cannot afford sanitary towels.

Aruna Varsana from the NGO says one way of preventing teenage pregnancy is to ensure the girl-child has access to basic needs, such as sanitary towels.

The activist, who pitched tents in Kakamega and Vihiga counties to distribute free sanitary towels, said efforts need to be channelled to rural settings.

“We as an NGO are focusing on rural areas to help the girl child be in school,” she said.

“Once she is in school, we are sure of her education, her safety and avoiding unwanted pregnancies."

The high poverty index in remote areas, she said, is hurting parents' ability to afford sanitary pads.

“Most parents in rural areas will tend to focus on food and other things and not pads,” Varsana said.

“That situation has forced girls in rural areas to come up with alternatives for them to get sanitary towels.” 

We want to see women now on the frontline. We can only achieve that if we keep our girls in school

HELPING THE NEEDY

The foundation has rolled out a free sanitary towels drive targeting 1,800 girls from vulnerable families in public schools in Kakamega and Vihiga counties.

The schools set to benefit from the Sh1.5 million project include Township, Amalemba, Shitaho, St George, Shivakala and Matende primary schools in Kakamega.

In Vihiga, they include Kedohi, Chavugami, Navuhi, Vihiga, Chango and Ikumba primary schools.

The sanitary towels are distributed among girls aged 12-15 within primary schools to sustain them in class.

The two counties were selected after an outcry from the public that most girls cannot sustain themselves in class during their monthly period.

Varsana said their aim is to ensure the girl child is protected and given an equal chance to be in class.

“We want to see women now on the frontline. We can only achieve that if we keep our girls in school,” she said.

They have issued eco-friendly pads that will last for two years, whether someone is experiencing a heavy flow or not.

Varsana says once girls receive these pads, it will help them preserve their dignity and eliminate embarrassment.

"When this girl starts struggling for pads, automatically they become sex preys. They will land into cheap traps as they try to seek money to buy pads," she said.

The Together for Better Foundation has been battling the same problem in the northern part of the country, where they have reached more than 25,000 teenage girls.

BOYS ALSO TARGETED

Varsana said her foundation will focus on remote areas, which are highly neglected.

"We have given out six pairs of pads to our girls, and they are made in a way that after hours of use, they can be cleaned and reused when they dry," she said.

“We haven’t ignored the boy child. We are also setting up libraries and we currently have 45 of them countrywide, where our boys can go for free studies.” 

During the distribution, teachers praised the programme, saying it will help a number of female learners to be in class.

Vihiga Primary School head teacher Dominic Otieno led the plaudits.

"These girls you see here, most of them can't afford these pads. They only depend on their parents to buy," he said.

The head teacher said the current economic situation has left many parents only focusing on basic needs.

Otieno said a number of kids have now been forced to seek alternatives to ensure they are not embarrassed during their periods.

He said these include cotton wool, tissue paper and torn blankets or rags, which are unhealthy for them. 

"Those parents who don't ensure their girls have sanitary pads don't know the alternatives may cause health complications," he said.

He thanked the NGO and urged them to extend the programme to more vulnerable girls in more remote counties to sustain them in class.