Reducing period poverty in Kenya through local pad production
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- Relevant Data
- Region 🇰🇪 Kenya
- Sector 🎒 Education
- Kits distributed 1,385
- Women employed 11
- Wages paid out $2,130
This project, in collaboration with Kenya Connect, distributes reusable sanitary pad kits - manufactured by local women - to girls in Wamunyu, Kenya, helping them remain in education.
Why is this work necessary?
65% of women and girls in Kenya cannot afford essential menstrual hygiene products. This widespread lack of access forces girls to miss school, with approximately one million school-age girls missing an average of four academic days per month due to period poverty—39 days annually.
With 42% of schoolgirls resorting to unsafe menstrual methods like rags or cotton wool, they’re vulnerable to infections and reproductive health issues, worsened by inadequate sanitation facilities in rural schools (only 32% offer private spaces). Period poverty also leads to transactional sex for sanitary products; two-thirds of rural pad users rely on sexual partners, and 10% of 15-year-old girls report trading sex for menstrual products—fueling teenage pregnancies, exploitation, and ongoing gender inequality.
The solution
Local women—using machines supplied by Kenya Connect—sew reusable sanitary pad kits. The kits are then distributed to girls through an established network of schools, along with health education workshops for all students. Each kit lasts up to two years and contains two reusable shields, ten flannel liners, two pairs of panties, a drawstring bag, and bilingual (Kiswahili and English) instructions.
Who is Kenya Connect?
Kenya Connect is a nonprofit organization working to improve education and health outcomes in rural Kenya, particularly in the Mwala sub-county of Machakos. Their initiatives focus on addressing barriers to education, such as period poverty while fostering community empowerment and sustainability.
Additionally, Kenya Connect creates income opportunities for women through sewing training and tackles issues like teen pregnancy and gender-based violence.
Impact and outcomes
Every 100 kits distributed through this project reclaims up to 30,000 hours of school time that would otherwise be lost to girls in the school year.
Additionally, $3 is paid to women in wages for each kit produced, generating a sustainable income and strengthening local economic resilience.
Updates
From the field
Concluded the first school in Adansi South

Posted 30 Oct 2024
We've concluded our visit to the first school in Adansi South this morning. 100 girls received their menstrual kits as part of our ongoing distribution project. We're now moving on to the second school for the day to continue our efforts.
300 girls receive menstrual kits in Adansi South schools

Posted 30 Oct 2024
We've concluded our third school distribution in Adansi South today. With this latest effort, we've successfully provided 300 girls with their re-usable menstrual kits.
Concluding the second school visit in Adansi South

Posted 30 Oct 2024
We've concluded our third school visit of the day in Adansi South district. The students were gathered in the local church for the educational programme.
Menstrual kit distribution completed in Harare, Zimbabwe

Posted 14 Oct 2024
Our effort to distribute reusable menstrual kits to 175 students concluded last Friday, with a final 55 students receiving their reusable kits.
Attached is a report of the work.
Final menstrual kit distribution planned for Ghana, closing out year's efforts

Posted 11 Oct 2024
We're looking to close out the year with a final distribution of 300 reusable menstrual kits in Ghana on October 28th.
This will be the last distribution of kits this year and will bring our total to 1,155 students supported, or 462,000 hours of school time reclaimed over a two-year period.
Successful menstrual kit distribution and health workshops held in Kwekwe

Posted 26 Sept 2024
The first distribution took place in Kwekwe today. 120 students received reusable menstrual kits, and a broader group of students participated in health education workshops.
Attached is a reel of the day's events:
Kwanda community expands support for girls in Ghana's Ashanti Region

Posted 25 Sept 2024
Today, the Kwanda community voted to return to Ghana, expanding this initiative to support an additional 300 girls in the Sekyere Central and Adansi South Districts of the Ashanti Region.
We'll once again partner with the Akaya Foundation, which has begun preparations and is now procuring kits for distribution.
Kwekwe distribution project gains ministry approval and sets target date

Posted 19 Sept 2024
We've secured distribution approval from the Ministry of Education in Kwekwe, and a District Schools Inspector has also been assigned to accompany our team to schools.
Currently, the team is finalising distribution dates and beneficiary lists with local schools. The proposed distribution date is set for September 26th.
700 menstrual kits ready for Zimbabwe schoolgirls

Posted 4 Sept 2024
The team in Zimbabwe has made great progress in producing 700 washable pads and holder bags to be distributed to 175 girls. These were crafted by the women trained at the Ruwa safe house, who used their new sewing skills.
Schools reopen on September 9th, and the team is finalising distribution plans.
Training and sewing has begun in Ruwa

Posted 13 Aug 2024
As per the last, we extended this initiative into Zimbabwe and will distribute reusable menstrual kits to 175 students in urban and rural Areas.
This time around, we employed and trained women in a safe house in Ruwa, which homes women who became pregnant in their teenage years or otherwise needed to tap into communal support networks.
This update includes clips of the women tapping their newly learned sewing skills and producing the holder bags that will house the reusable pads.
Distribution will begin in September once students are back in school. As a result, these students will be able to attend all school days of the year.
We're expanding this initiative into Zimbabwe 🇿🇼

Posted 19 Jul 2024
We’re currently voting to expand this initiative in Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Daises Foundation.
As schools are currently closed, August will focus solely on training local women in Ruwa to create the kits. Distribution of the kits will commence in September once students are back in school.
480 girls in Kenya have now received their kits

Posted 22 Jun 2024
For the last two weeks, the local moms and our team have been busy making, training, and distributing reusable sanitary pads for the two remaining schools, Makaalu Primary and Mwaasua Secondary Schools.
Nunga Primary School - 35 girls
Wamunyu ABC Primary School - 31 girls
Makaalu Secondary School - 34 girls
Kilembwa Secondary - 289 girlsÂ
Mbuini Primary School- 30 girls
Makaalu Primary School – 31 girls
Mwaasua Secondary School – 30 girls
During our training and distribution schedules, the students have expressed great gratitude for the kits. Faith, a student at Mwaasua Secondary School, commented:
“I am humbled and excited to receive the kit; I will not be stressed anymore on what to use during my period. Sometimes, I was praying that my period skips when I am in school because I don’t have sanitary pads.’
‘I am happy that the parents of the girls who receive the wings Poa won’t struggle to buy synthetic sanitary pads and that money can instead be used to buy food for the family.  I am proud of making the Wings Poa because I know girls won’t miss school and won’t have challenges getting sanitary pads.
419 girls in Kenya have now received their kits

Posted 10 Jun 2024
One month after receiving the Kwanda grant, we are excited to share that 419 girls have been trained and issued with reusable sanitary pad kits.
So far, 5 schools out of 7 targeted schools have been fully trained and issued with the kits. They include:
Nunga Primary School - 35 girls
Wamunyu ABC Primary School - 31 girls
Makaalu Secondary School - 34 girls
Kilembwa Secondary - 289 girls and
Mbuini Primary School- 30 girls
The training and distribution of the reusable pad kits last month at Makaalu Secondary coincided with International Menstrual Hygiene Day! It was a day of celebration for these girls to receive their kits and regain a sense of dignity. During the training and distribution of the kits at the respective schools, our team listened to students who expressed great gratitude for the kits. Here are a few comments from the girls.
During my periods I used to fake illness so that I could stay at the dormitory because I didn't have sanitary pads. I was using cut out materials from kanga fabric and they would often leak. Now with the kit, I will be able to attend classes without fear of leakage. — Mercy, Kilembwa secondary
I’m happy to receive my kit. For now, I will not be sharing the sanitary pads with my sister since my mother used to buy just one pack for both of us to share. — Ann, Mbuini Ps
Local women sewing menstrual for additional income

Posted 3 Jun 2024
Our maker space has been intensively assisting local mothers in sewing and producing the kits.
I am happy and enjoying making the kits. I can now get money from making the kits and ‘am not dependent on casual jobs. Through making the kits, I am able to start poultry farming
A thank you message to Kwanda villagers on world menstrual hygiene day

Posted 28 May 2024
I received this lovely video recording from the girls at Makaalu Secondary School this afternoon.