Access to Menstrual Products in East Africa

Activity Summary:

In partnership with Awimo Girls Foundation, which mobilized high school girls from 2 schools, we conducted a session with 90 girls from Gladys Secondary.

This was a comprehensive and exciting session; the girls were active, asked questions, and participated fully. The school gave us enough time to teach and interact with the participants. The session started with an introduction from Awimo Girls Foundation and Femme International. Femme took over the session. We used the blackboard to teach about the parts and functions of the internal and external reproductive system, PMS, and DIY on how to manage the PMS.

Some interesting topics that came up were virginity, safe days, and medication for stopping menstruation.

To conclude, we comprehensively taught about Afripads and menstrual cups, and the girls chose which menstrual product they wanted to try between the two.

Outcomes:

Some girls were shocked that other girls chose a menstrual cup over washable pads. Most of the girls have a negative view of menstruation, but by the end of the session, they really were trying to understand and challenge themselves. Most of them felt comfortable asking questions anonymously or one-on-one after the distribution, which encouraged them to ask about menstruation and menstrual-related problems. For example is one of the girls has been taking medication to stop her periods, and she sometimes experiences painful cramps. At first, girls were shy about menstrual cups. After teaching, some of the girls picked the menstrual cup over the washable pads.

What stood out:

The teachers were really supportive and active listeners. The participants were active during the session.

Challenges/Obstacles: 

At some point we experienced heavy rain which made the room dark and hard for the girls to hear. More girls preferred washable pads which we did not carry enough, we were advised to balance 50 pads to 50 cups. Bad weather means increase in cost for transportation.