Village Link - Kenya

Many girls in the developing world miss upto 45 days of school each year because they cannot afford sanitary pads. This is certainly true of the girls at Bondeni Primary school in Kakamega, Kenya. The school is located on the edge of two low income areas where families struggle to afford the simple necessities such as food and shelter. There is nothing left for items such as disposable sanitary pads. Girls in this area routinely miss school when they menstruate.

Soroptimist Marie MacKay spends 6 months each year in Kenya doing volunteer work in the community.  Through Marie, our club provided funds to provide a pilot program to provide enough disposable pads and related items for 100 girls.

While $5 per girl  might not seem like a lot of money it provided each girl with six re-usable pads, 2 pairs of underwear, a bucket to clean the pads in (so they could be soaked in the bucket, separate from other clothing) and soap. The pads were made in an enterprising worman's workshop which gave employment to several village women. The underwear was purchased in the market after much haggling and the soap and buckets were provided wholesale from the shop where Soroptimist Marie MacKay did her grocery shopping.

Bucket-Pad-Underwear Day provided a lot of smiles and many thanks. As well as the girls, the teachers were very grateful for the gifts, as they are frequently asked for help in providing sanitary pads for girls whose periods start during the school day.

When Marie returns at the end of 2011 she will evaluate the success of the project and hopefully provide additional support.