Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

Did you know that 3 out of 10 girls in rural communities miss 3-4 days of school per month since they do not have products to use during their montly menstrual cycle?  In Wamunyu, the Head Teachers shared that many girls were missing school and requested assistance.  As a result, Kenya Connect developed, Wings Poa, a reusable sanitary pad kit to help keep girls in school.  As a result of several grants and donations from folks like you, Kenya Connect began to work with the Kithito kya Kyeengai women’s group and the students and staff at the Wamunyu Special School to produce Wings Poa locally. The two groups were adequately trained on how to make the product using local cotton and flannel fabric. Each Wings Poa kit is comprised of two shields made from waterproof PUL material, 8 liners, a drawstring bag and two zip lock bags for washing. The PUL material is not locally available and therefore Kenya Connect donates the PUL to the groups who in turn donate 15% of all Wingspoa kits made. The donated kits are given to school girls free of charge with the groups selling the rest of the product to the community at $5 per kit. This model is helping to create some income to the women groups. 0ver 170 girls in 5 primary schools have benefited from Wings Poa and our production continues.

Before issuing Wings Poa Kits, Kenya Connect conducts a pre-survey to determine what sanitary materials the girls are using and to determine if the girls are unable to attend school due to lack of sanitary materials. It was established that 85% of girls from two sample schools missed school 3-4 days a month because of lack of sanitary pads. Kenya Connect staff trains school girls and their mothers on the benefits of using Wings Poa. Our program has been embraced over the synthetic sanitary pads because girls and women find it to be cost effective, environment friendly and confortable to use. Due to lack of incinerators in most rural areas, the synthetic pads are disposed of by throwing into pit latrines, which results in quickly filling up the latrines. Unlike synthetic pads provided by the government, Wings Poa is a personal product that cannot be shared.

 Three months after Kenya Connect rolled out the first set of Wings Poa kits, a post survey was administered to determine if the beneficiary girls were using the product and to determine the rate of absenteeism from school. It was found out that 90% of the girls had used the product and the rate of absenteeism had dropped from 85% to 5%: a very drastic shift! This greatly confirmed that Wings Poa is working to break down the barrier for girls’ menstrual hygiene.

"Wings poa is very comfortable to use than the sythentic pads. It is easy to clean and to keep hyginic after use. Since I recieved a wings poa kit, my parents have saved the money to buy synthic pads"

Ruth student beneficiary at Nunga Primary school.

We continue to listen to the local community to develop our programs and with the support of committed donors like you. we are making these programs a reality.  We will continue to expand the Wings Poa program so that more girls will have the opportunity to an education.  

Of course our technology, literacy, and deworming programs are still in full swing and we will be sharing more information on these programs in the next month.  We trust you enjoyed reading how this special initiative is making a difference.

Links:

• Wings Poa Video