What We Do
Restoring dignity, donating period pads, mentorships for boys and girls
The Girl Aid Foundation was founded with the main objective to combat period poverty, remove social taboos associated with menstruation, and normalise discourse related to periods in Kenya. Period poverty is endemic in Kenya and our efforts are focused on reducing its prevalence in the counties of Nairobi, but our ultimate aim is to address the socioeconomic phenomenon on a national level. Considering that absenteeism is closely linked to period poverty, we distribute period products freely at schools to ensure girls remain in school when menstruating. Regular school attendance ensures that female students receive the necessary education to improve their economic status and become more socially mobile. We also use workshops to educate both girls and boys in the community about menstruation and period healthcare, to contribute towards the destigmatisation of menstruation.
Combatting Period Poverty
We work to improve the lives of menstruating girls by fighting period poverty
Providing School Uniforms
It is important that more of Kenya’s population who live in poverty have the opportunity to migrate to the middle class. School absenteeism undermines the ability of children to receive a valuable education and access good paying jobs. The lack of a school uniform is another factor that negatively affects school attendance. Studies have consistently found that access to free school uniforms has a positive effect on school attendance. The Girl Aid Foundation started a new program to offer school uniforms to financially disadvantaged students to ensure that they attend school on a consistent basis.
Menstrual Health Education
Educating girls and boys about menstruation and reproductive rights.
We educate both girls and boys about menstrual health and reproductive rights.
There is an interlinkage between the knowledge gap girls have about menstruation, social taboos associated with menstruation, and the violation of their reproductive rights by men. Men’s sexual exploitation of post-pubescent girls leads to teenage pregnancy and the spreading of HIV.
In conservative societies like Kenya, specifically in predominantly low-income communities, discussing menstruation is regarded as a social taboo. A national survey has found that less than 50% of parents discuss matters of a sexual nature with children, and sex education in schools is not compensating for the deficit in knowledge about the subject matter. Since girls are also not comfortable talking to parents about menstruation, it is important that non-governmental organisations breach the education gap and provide sex education at schools. The Girl Aid Foundation is closely involved in educating girls regarding period care by conducting workshops at schools. The workshops inform girls about menstruation and puberty, aim to remove the socially imposed stigma associated with menstruation, and educate them about their sexual reproductive rights. Our educational workshops also target boys in our efforts to destigmatise menstruation. We educate them about the reproductive rights of girls as being fundamentally linked to human rights, help them understand that girls need safe spaces at schools, in particular during their periods. We also create forums for girls and boys to talk about their bodies and sex.