Sanitary Pads/Towels Distribution Program
This is a program run by KTF that delivers sanitary pads and health education to Kenyan girls from poor social and economic backgrounds to make sure that periods do not get in the way of Girls right to Education.
Over 850,000 Girls in Kenya miss school 5 to 6 days every month during their menstruation because they lack sanitary pads.
This means that a girl who is absent from school due to menses for five days per month loses 15 learning days equivalent to 2 weeks of learning in every school term.
KTF seeks to support these girls from poor social economic background with annual packs of sanitary towels to reduce absenteeism from school leading to poor performance.Since the inception of the programme about 500 girls have been able to receive Sanitary pads and we hope to increase these numbers as time goes by.
Vision
We envision a world where girls in Kenya ,East Africa live healthy, safe, educated lives while defining their own purpose in a world in which menstrual health management is recognized as a human right, and the onset of puberty as the most effective time to engage girls and boys in a range of personal health decisions.
Mission
There is no automatic solution to girls’ education, safety, and empowerment. These are issues requiring complex and holistic solutions.
The project aims to;
- Reduce the girl child school dropout due to lack of sanitary towels
- Educate teenage girls on puberty, hygiene menstruation and how to physically and psychologically handle such periods.
- Sustain marginalized girls with annual packs of sanitary pads and underwear’s to ensure periods do not get in their way of achieving an education.
- Eliminate through informing, the myths, taboos and misinformation that people in such communities have about girls during their menstrual period.
KTF addresses these challenges by equipping adolescent girls in Kenya with the tools they need to safely navigate puberty and unlock their full potential.
These tools include sanitary pads and rights-based reproductive health education, delivered in the form of social and behavior change done or executed through mentorship talks and magazines delivered to both boys and girls through schools, church and community organizations.
Our Approach
Every girl deserves the right to pursue an education. Yet without safe, effective sanitary protection, it’s not possible for girls to leave their homes, let alone go to school while menstruating
We also recognize the importance of menstrual health education in the communities we serve. Harmful myth and superstition surrounding menstruation, in addition to a lack of access to safe and effective sanitary protection lead to shame and humiliation that keeps girls confined to their households during their periods. We disseminate menstrual and public health education along with our sanitary pads
We take a holistic programmatic approach to supporting girls:
Sanitary Pads And Menstrual Health
KTF leverages sanitary pads and health education as a combined intervention for women and girls’ development. We uniquely recognize that this powerful combination is one of the smallest hinges to unlock girls’ potential and break cycles of poverty.
Through this programme, we deliver sanitary pads and underpants to meet the material dimensions of period poverty to girls that lack regular access to menstrual health products. This helps them to confidently manage menstruation with pride and dignity.
Health & Life Skills
Across Kenya, adolescents are not taught about health and life skills in consistent, rights-based ways, and lack the pressing answers they seek about their changing bodies. Due to deeply ingrained social taboos, these topics are not regularly discussed at home or in the classroom.
KTF is working to change all that by developing inspiring, aspirational transformative approach to educate and provide resources to unlock a universe of support for adolescents.
Social & Behavior Change
This provides the information, guidance and affirmation adolescents seek and need to navigate puberty in a way that is referable and user-tested for behavior change and health outcomes.
Topics include menstrual and reproductive health education through a rights-based lens, alongside activities to foster self-efficacy, and to support youth to safely and confidently navigate adolescence.