Sanitary pads are a necessity in every woman’s life. It is sad that some women have to choose between necessities. If one has to worry about what they will eat next; pads simply will not be a priority. As joined As One Relief, we visited Kibera twice for this project. The first time (11/02/2020), it was to collect data from women in Kibera on the topic. This was done through surveys. Our findings showed that majority of the women experienced difficulty when it came to accessing sanitary pads.
Upon speaking to some of the women, we were surprised to hear the methods they had to resort to during their monthly period. Some women used pieces of cloth; others used pieces of dirty old mattress. Of course, these methods are not the most hygienic and could result in infections. Some of the women simply did not leave their homes at all during this time, which affected their ability to work/study. This in turn, affected their confidence.
We decided to raise funds to provide these women with a solution, at least for some time. Reusable pads; they can be washed after each use and last for a year. On our second trip to Kibera (29/02/2020), we provided reusable pads for 50 women. Each woman received one packet and each packet contained 6 pads. Furthermore, we gave them a seminar on feminine hygiene and training on how to use the reusable pads. The Pad Drive is just the beginning. We intend to do more projects like these in future, with the hope of helping even more women as our organisation grows.