Background:
1. That many girls from poor families especially orphans in rural Kisumu from lack access to sanitary pads.
2. That the poverty cycle in Kisumu can be broken when girls stay in school.
3. Poor Kisumu girls who cannot afford pads resort to unhygienic and unsafe solutions.
4. 50% of girls in Kisumu slums engage in transactional sex or are sexually exploited to get money for basic feminine supplies like pads hence the risk of STIs and HIV/AIDS.
5. Alternatively, others miss school, sports, friends and relationships altogether to avoid
embarrassment from bloodstained clothes.
6. School absenteeism is a major risk factor to the education of girls in Kisumu.
7. A girl child with lack of access to menstrual products faces emotional and psychological stress.
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| Orphan girl with sanitary pads |
The situation:
1. Making an emergency trip to the shops to get pads or tampons and found no shops or the money you have was too little to afford them.
2. Menstruation, a natural process for women and girls, is a big problem for girls in most parts of Kisumu causing a huge risk to their health and disempowerment.
3. Menstruation adds to the collection of reasons for gender disparity experienced by girls in Kisumu.
4. In Kisumu, lack of access to sanitary towels for girls means no school, no leaving home, no friends, no joy, no hope…sad, uuh!
5. To manage their menstrual flow, orphans in Kisumu turn to anything like rags, banana leaves papers, pieces of old clothes, torn blankets, tree leaves, newspapers, corn husks, basically anything that can possibly do the job!.
6. Due to the absence of menstrual products for orphaned poor girls in Kisumu, a normal natural experience for females has been transformed into a nightmare or a curse as some may bluntly view it.
7. Menstruation is a private subject and taboo to discuss openly due to social and cultural
attitudes, hence the problems associated with it are swept under the carpet
8. Hygienic sanitary protection and reproductive health matters are considered a trivial issue for government attention.
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| Orphan girl with sanitary pads |
Facts:
For a typical orphan from poor families, when there is no money to cater for food and other basic needs, sanitary products are not a priority. Therefore, providing sanitary materials to orphans would be a life-changer for numerous reasons including hygiene, health, education and empowerment. When people are dying of war, hunger, diseases and terrorist attacks, pads are the last thing an aid organization or a government would think of. On average, orphaned girl misses 5 school days in a month; this means 20 learning days in a term. A year has 3 terms, this means losing 60 learning days per year. A girl in a local primary school who studies for 4 years would lose 240 days cumulatively throughout their primary basic education. This is about 8 months of school absenteeism within a period of 4 years. This fact also increases the possibility of dropping out of school.
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| Purchased sanitary pads |
Something can be done to improve girl’s access to effective, sustainable, affordable, eco-friendly and safe solutions. An innovative solution to the girl problems in Kisumu can be
obtained through sustainable feminine hygiene and pads to avoid infection, exploitation, shame, low self-esteem, school drop-out, exploitation and stress. Be part: Let’s make this situation better for the girls in Kisumu. The stories of the girls in Kisumu are sad and drive our passion to want to help. By supporting, you will empower and provide a girls child in Kisumu with quality, re-usable sanitary towels. This process will include educating girls on matters of reproductive health, self-defense, personal hygiene, and sewing lessons. Your support is a stepping stone to long-term solutions for girls in Kisumu.
