Some 250 girls from Angata Rongai village in Samburu West Sub County will now remain in school during their periods after they received free reusable sanitary pads during the World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Speaking during the distribution, the director of Network Empowering Samburu Transformation (NEST) Silvana Lesuuda noted that many girls in Samburu County drop out of school because they cannot easily access sanitary pads.
“In the remote parts of Samburu there are no shops so the girls are forced to skip school during their periods and they also end up using unhygienic rags,” Lesuuda said.
Lesuuda said that the reusable sanitary pads lasts up to four years and the distribution will lead to high retention levels in both primary and secondary schools in the county.
She said that the World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 under the theme ‘Making menstrual a normal fact of life by 2030’ coincides well with how menstruation is perceived in the Samburu community.
“We have also been demystifying menstrual periods by sensitising morans that it’s healthy and normal and they can help by buying pads for their sisters or daughters during market days,” she said.
Peter Lentepes a Samburu Moran and an ambassador of menstrual hygiene in Samburu County encouraged men to promote menstrual hygiene by providing sanitary pads just the way they provide food for their families.
“As men we now know it’s healthy and normal for women to have menstrual periods and we are now getting involved by providing sanitary pads when they are needed,” Lentepes said.
The girls and women were also engaged in demonstrations on how to use and maintain the reusable sanitary pads.
By Robert Githu
