This proposal seeks approval for a yearly budget to continue funding our sustainable period poverty project and efforts in Kenya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.

Background

Last year, we saw that for every $10 we spent in rural communities tackling period poverty, we were able to reclaim approximately 250 hours of school time for girls, all while providing skills training for local women and health education for young boys and girls.

Our local partners' approach to tackling the issue of period poverty was far more evolved than what's typical.

Typically, the approach to solving period poverty is to buy single-use products from the West and ship them to the East. This incurs large logistical costs and creates a dependency on these products. A better approach is to produce or source the products locally to eliminate these costs.

Our local partners went a step further by training women in the community to produce the menstrual kits locally. These kits lasted up to two years and were given to girls in the same area. They then worked with local schools to distribute the kits and provide health and hygiene workshops for all students.

This helped create community buy-in and commitment to keeping girls in school.

Why this work is important?

In rural communities, a significant challenge schoolgirls face is the inability to afford sanitary products. This leads to frequent absences from school—an average of 4-5 days each month. This absence is particularly detrimental during the period leading up to national exams.

Students' families typically live on less than $2 daily, making even primary sanitary care unaffordable.

How the budget and project will be executed

Local women will be trained and paid to manufacture reusable menstrual kits - made using organic cotton - at a local maker space.

Local partners will work with local schools to distribute the kits to girls and provide health and hygiene workshops to girls and boys in each given school.

Girls will receive year-round support from the schools and local partners regarding their education and sanitary health.

Metrics we'll track

Impact

The distribution of kits will directly prevent girls from missing school during their menstrual periods, improving their educational outcomes and long-term life opportunities.

Additionally, the project supports local women who produce these kits, fostering an environment of economic empowerment and sustainability.

This initiative is a scalable model that can be expanded to include more girls and communities.