Re-usable sanitary towels, Kenya

Project name: Re-usable, Washable, Biodegradable sanitary towels

Project location: Kenya

Website: http://fohlc.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanitaryTowels

Flickr:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/fohkenya/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fountainofhopeA

Project description:

This project was not premeditated, one day in 2007 our team was handing out food donations to families affected by HIV/Aids when a poor single mother brought her daughter to us for counseling, her daughter had bled through the rag she had improvised for sanitary pad, the blood permeated to her school uniform showing a reddish patch. This made her peers laugh at her and gossip about her. According to her this was very traumatizing and she vowed never to return to that school. She was done with education, she walked around face down covered with shame and loss of dignity.

We spoke with her and provided her with a single packet of sanitary pads. The following month she turned up again and our team contributed about half a dollar and bought her another packet. On the third month she showed up with five friends also suffering in silence. This is how this project was born.
Now the project provide annual menstrual supplies for 1556 girls, but the number of beneficiaries keep growing making it hard for us to sustain the project. There is also the environmental challenge because many schools do not have incinerators for proper disposal of menstrual waste. To make this project sustainable and respond to environmental challenge our team has been trained in making reusable, washable and biodegradable sanitary towels. We have ran a successful prototype and because we source all materials locally the production cost is down allowing us to run a sustainable charity ensuring girls especially from rural communities do not miss school during their periods.

Goal and purpose of the project:

• Number one goal is to increase gender equity for young women in our county, annual menstrual supplies helps poor girls to stay in school during their periods and therefore giving the an even ground to compete with boys academically. Girls also engage more in extra-curricular activities like sports allowing them exploit their full potential. Another goal is to lift the dignity and self esteem of beneficiaries.
• Second main reason is to protect our environment. After years of providing girls with disposable pads we learnt that there are no proper disposals of menstrual waste in our community. Girls throw away used pads in open fields and when it rain all this is washed up into our water bodies endangering marine life and people because in many villages people draw their drinking water from rivers and lakes.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

The inception story is what motivates us, this project started with one girl, then five and now over 1500 beneficiaries. A project that was never planned is now an award winning project. In 2010 we won 2nd prize in ‘Out-of-the-Box’ Prize from University of Kansas, USA.
Also, there is a lot of local support; this project runs mostly on volunteer support and local donations. This inspires us to keep going.The reports we get from teachers on academic improvement of our beneficiaries also motivate us to keep going. More importantly, the testimonies from beneficiaries on how the project has impacted their lives are a big morale booster.

Use of prize money:

When we win we shall move from prototype to establishing a sewing center for making reusable, washable sanitary pads that are cost effective and biodegradable hence eco-friendly.