By Michael Oduor
800 girls in Mwasere Girls High School in Mwatate Sub-county, Taita Taveta County on Saturday received 70 cartons of free sanitary pads from Fasalina charity organisation.
Fasalina is a charity organisation founded by Elinah Keffa for empowering the girl-child.
Speaking to Education News, Mwasere Girls’ School Principal Salome Mwaruwa applauded the Fasalina organisation for considering her school which, she said, has 800 students, of which a big number come from a humble background.
According to her, most students are unable to purchase sanitary towels, a challenge she said has for a long time been affecting the girl-child performance in studies.
“Most of the students in this school come from Taita Taveta County, with a big number being from a humble background. This has seen the girls going through challenges of purchasing the pads and feeling uncomfortable being with others especially during their monthly periods. Psychologically, this has an effect on them and may lead to poor performance even for students who could do better if supplied with the pads,” she noted.
She added that most students fear speaking up when they are in their monthly periods so that they can be helped out which affects their concentration in class as this diverts their minds while thinking about their flows.
Mwaruwa urged parents to prioritize purchasing enough sanitary towels for their girls as they go back to school so that they can feel safe and be able to settle and concentrate in class work during their periods.
“Parents should consider buying their girls enough sanitary towels when they come back to school so that while here, they can feel comfortable and concentrate in learning,” she said.
Elinah Keffa who did her KCSE in the same school in 2018, demonstrated the saying “scratch my back I scratch your back” through giving back to the students in the school that enabled her see the university doors as she’s currently a student at Mount Kenya University.
On her part, Keffa advocates free sanitary towels to be given to schools or on a reduced tax to the girls.
She urged the government to consider supplying free sanitary pads to schools and public areas where girls can easily access the pads just as it was done with condoms which are distributed freely to the public hospitals.
According to her, menstrual flow is something natural and ladies don’t have an option to either have it or not, adding that it is important for the sanitary towels to be supplied to rural schools freely.
“It’s so important for the girl-child to be empowered when it comes to hygiene. Lack of sanitary towels when a girl is in her monthly periods causes a lot of mental problems to the girls which affects most of the students negatively in their performance. I urge the government to consider supplying students in rural schools across the country with free sanitary towels or at a tax free price that students can easily afford,” said Keffa. Students in the school were joyous as they received the pads.
The school through their guidance and counselling office led by Rosemary Mwalimu has come up with a student’s group for helping one another where students who can afford more pads share with those who are unable to purchase the pads.
According to Mwalimu, a member of a peer counselling group in the school, some students go through a lot of challenges when it comes to their monthly periods. She said some girls go to the extent of using mattresses due to lack of sanitary towels during their monthly periods which she termed as an unhygienic as it could cause infections.
“Some girls fear speaking up and have a lot of challenges. You find a girl using mattresses and other pieces of clothes which are not clean that may cause infections,” said Mwalimu.
The department also counsels students on issues relating to their hygiene, education and mental health in a bid to ensure that students are in a conducive state while in school to be able to perform better.
“Girls find themselves in the hands of men who end up misusing them in the name of helping them buy sanitary towels. This is because a number of them cannot afford purchasing the pads, which forces them to look for the pads from other people who take advantage to lure the girls and impregnate them or even infect them with diseases that ruin their lives,” said Salma Rahma, co-founder of Fasalina foundation.
