Sunday, March 19, 2006

Period misery for Kenya schoolgirls

"A large number of girls in rural Kenya skip school at the time of their menstruation because they cannot afford to buy sanitary towels or tampons."

"It's estimated some girls miss more than a month of school each year . The cost of these monthly necessities has been highlighted by women campaigners in Zimbabwe, where the economic crisis has led to shortages and prohibitive prices."

"But it is a problem experienced by many across Africa, and Kenya in particular, where 54% of people live on less than $1 a day. "I normally lie. I always say that I'm sick at the time of my period," says Soudah Gurhan, a student in Wajir, north-eastern Kenya."

"Zainabu Mohammed, a teacher at Wajir's Dambas primary school, says this is the case with many of her female pupils. "The children that can't afford them miss lessons until their period is over. When they report to classes, they normally say that they were sick because they have no other reason to give out," she says. "

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Our small humanitarian non- profit organization, Help Kenyan Children Survive and Thrive is aware of this serious challenge for adolescent girls. We provide a Health and Hygiene Education Project each summer in Kanamai in a grass- roots based community center. We facilitate an adolescent personal hygiene workshop and provide reusable soft cotton cloths,and underwear.
This is a small step in teaching them how to use reusable resources. Our goal includes strengthing this facet of our project.