This proposal seeks funding from our village pot to provide health education and reusable menstrual kits for 175 girls in Zimbabwe. It is an extension of our ongoing menstrual kit initiative.

Context

Zimbabwe is a country grappling with economic challenges and high levels of poverty in both urban and rural areas. Out of 5 million women who menstruate in Zimbabwe, 42% live under the poverty line. As a result, period poverty—defined as the lack of access to menstrual products, education, and hygiene facilities—is worsening.

Approximately 72% of school-going girls in rural communities miss school during their menstrual cycle due to a lack of proper sanitary products, leading to an estimated 20% dropout rate among these girls.

Solution

Over 2-3 months, our funding will employ and train local women in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. These local women will create 175 reusable menstrual kits for girls.

The pads will be distributed in partnership with local organisations, women's groups and schools. Educational workshops will also be conducted at the time of distribution.

Monitoring and evaluation will be conducted 3-4 months after the distribution of pads to ensure the beneficiaries were correctly sensitised to their use and to assess the effectiveness of the intervention.

Impact

This project implementation will build on our work to reclaim school time for girls in rural communities to the tune of 87,500 hours.