CAHED KENYA ONE GIRL AT ATIME -SANITORY AND PANTS SUPPORT PROJECT

The project aims to purchase re-usable sanitary pads from I-Care for female primary in Homabay County. These sanitary pads are made from natural and chemical free materials and are usable for about one year. Moreover, we will also provide the girls with underwear, which is 100% cotton. We will supply a pack that contains 4 reusable sanitary pads, 3 pairs of underwear per girl & 500gms bar soap. Thus, the Initiative will raise money to support the purchase of the necessary sanitary pads and underwear for the girls. In order to raise the fund for the project the initiative will use different approaches, one of which is soliciting funds from well-wishers, donor, professional and leaders, this entails creating awareness to the general public and also raise funds. Furthermore, the initiative will approach individual donors and use simple fund raising mechanisms such as pledge forms and promissory requests.

CAHEDKENYA One –Girl-at- a time Initiative will distribute all pads and underwear to the specific primary schools in Homabay County. Selected Girls from schools will work together with the project Initiative team & and a team from I-Care will deliver the pads and underwear’s to the girls at each school. The teams will meet with the head teacher of each school and together with school staff will distribute the pads.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Primary girls face great challenges in terms of hygiene and sanitation during menstruating periods, these problems compound the difficulties posed by the inability to afford sanitary towels as well as cultural taboos around menstruation. As a result, many girls miss on average four days of school every month which is 38 days in a year, meaning they fall behind in class and sometimes even drop out of school altogether. This is an added challenge to the already existing problems that lead to the high dropout rate of female students in primary and secondary schools. The main problems faced by women and girls are:

• The expense of commercial sanitary pads;


• Absenteeism where girls stay at home rather than attending school when menstruating;


• Unhygienic ways to dry menstrual materials;


• Inadequate waste disposal facilities;


• Lack of privacy for changing menstrual materials;


• Leakage from poor-quality protection materials;


• The lack of resources for washing such as soap;


• Limited education about the facts of menstruation;


• Limited access to counseling and guidance;


• Fear caused by cultural myths;


• Embarrassment and low self-esteem;


• And the unsupportive attitudes of men.