Sanitary Pads

One of the most often forgotten groups is the teenage girls. Most girls don’t go to school during menstruation as they fear being laughed at by their peers. The facts:

• A girl is absent from school due to her periods for 4 days in 28 days each month loses 13 learning days, equivalent to 2 weeks of learning in every school term.
• In a school year (9 months), a girl loses 39 days in which she would have in class which is equivalent to six (6) weeks of learning time. A girl in primary school between grades six (6) and eight (8) (3 years) loses 18 learning weeks out of 108 weeks according to our syllabus.
• Within the four years of a high school the same girl loses 156 learning days equivalent to almost 24 weeks out of 144 weeks of learning in a high school.

This is a clear indication that a girl is automatically at a disadvantage at schools here, and thus can be more prone to dropping out. Rescue Team Kenya is committed to provide these girls with the sanitary pads and educate them so that a they can have freedom to learn smoothly. According to our research we found that girls/women in the rural slums of Kenya cannot afford to buy these sanitary pads.

Many girls now at the slum are opting to use a well cut blanket, rags, chicken feathers and a further host of unhygienic things. By coming up with this program, we have created a very lasting solution to keep these girls at school and compete with those girls from more able families.