More than 145 organizations from all over the world came together on the 28th of May to celebrate the first ever Menstrual Hygiene Day.
In Kenya, Wash United teamed up with 28 partners to organize a festival in Tharaka Nithi County which was attended by thousands of colorfully-clad school girls and teachers.
EcoZoom traveled to the event armed with hundreds of reusable pads to give away. We have teamed up with Be-Girl - an organization that creates affordable, aspirational and high performance products for women – and will soon be piloting the pads in Kenya.
The girls loved the look and feel of the Be-Girl pads and said they couldn't wait to try them out.
“I’m sure they will be very comfy and confident when wearing their new pads” said Marcella Knjagi, a teacher in Kamatunga School for the Deaf and winner of our Menstrual Hygiene Day raffle.
As well as winning lots of reusable pads to distribute to her students, Marcella and her daughter Milcent won a Zoom Dura, our clean burning firewood jiko.
“I’m so excited to cook Ugali and Githeri on my new jiko!” said Marcela. “We’ll keep it at the school and teach the girls how to cook".
Hosted by Samuel Ragwa, the governor of Tharaka Nithi, and supported by the Ministry of Health, the event served as a call-to-action to break the silence surrounding menstruation. In Kenya menstruation is not only a health concern but also has far reaching social and educational implications.Limited access to hygienic and affordable ways of dealing with menstruation can make girls miss up to 5 days of school very month, amounting to 20% of the school year.
Menstrual hygiene management is not only crucially important to a girls' quality of life, but has a ripple effect on the future of the whole country. By providing women and girls with a high performance and affordable sanitary pad, Be-Girl and Ecozoom want to empower women to to be comfortable with their bodies and overcome the everyday barriers they face.
← Older Post Newer Post →