1000 Kibera slum girls empowered to excel

"I received a report that the girls has attempted suicide twice, she walks around with a rope and has been seen several times under a particular tree." This was reported by one of the teachers during the Teachers meeting. A troubled girl had tried to take her own life while at home and it  was suspected that she had planned to do so in school. Polycom hosts meetings every term to listen to teachers and strategize on how to be there for the students, especially girls.

The termly teachers meeting took place on the 16^th of September 2022 at Polycom Development Project office from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The meeting was attended by 41 teachers from our partner schools with 8 schools failing to attend due to other commitments. Teachers meeting is always held every term to discuss our achievements as an organization with the school programs, challenges we are facing with the implementation of the program and way forward on how to solve the challenges..

Over the years polycom has made great improvements when it comes to implementation of the school programs. Having conversations with our girls and the teachers from various schools has helped us get feedback on what has worked so well for us and what we need to improve on.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• We have done so well with soap making and distribution which has improved in terms of thickness and quality.
• We have also made adjustment on the sizes of pads produced as they were very long and girls were not comfortable using them, they are now medium sizes which are very comfortable for the girls.
• We introduced boy’s mentorship and we started with schools that needed it most and we have made impact because the boys who were rude and knotty are now calm.
• We have also managed to refer 5 girls to a youth friendly health services since July up to date.
• In this quarter we have also managed to collect 219 contents from our talking boxes.
• We have also distributed 470 liters of soap to our partner schools.
• We have distributed 280 panties to our girls who are in need of pants.
• We have also distributed 1735 emergency sanitary towels to the girls.
• We have managed to reach 735 adolescent girls from our partner schools in this quarter.

There is need to have more thank one meeting in a term if resources allows.

• Detailed Report, Teachers Meeting (DOCX)

Menstrual Hygiene day is celebrated on 28^th may every year. It’s a chance to highlight the importance of menstrual care, raise awareness about the issues faced by those who do not have access to sanitary products, breaking the taboos associated with menstruation and end the stigma. Polycom Development Project conducted a pad-drive with 8 GYW (Girls and Young Women) by distributing sanitary towels to adolescent girls and young women around kibera.

A total of 450 sanitary towels and  200 panties were successfully distributed accross the county.

Girls and young women were faciitated to conduct a twitter chat on menstrual hygiene the aim was to break the stigma around menstruation, provide access to menstrual health education ,and create the opportunity for all to have access to what they need to effectively manage their periods and also we passionately believe that everyone should have the basic right to menstruate without shame or stigma.

The social media handles to create awareness. Like:

#MentrualHgyieneDay

#Nomorelimits

Conclusion

Women, teachers and various stakeholders have attested to a great increase of number of girls who are in school which in the long run has improved their school performance and in the long run boosting the confidence of girls and women. Girls have been able to concentrate in school and be less stressful on matters concerning menstruation.