More than 500 pupils from Nanga Primary School in Kisumu County have realized a major boost after receiving reusable and disposable sanitary towels and underwear donated to assist them to improve their hygiene.
County First Lady Dorothy Nyong’o said the initiative aims to retain the pupils, especially teenage girls, in school during their menses.
Boys were given underwear and soap while girls received towels, panties and soap during the World Menstrual Hygiene Day celebrations at the school on May 28.
Dorothy, who took the opportunity to sensitize the pupils on cervical cancer, called on education stakeholders to support the initiative by donating sanitary towels.
County Water CECM Meryline Agwa noted with concern that the rising cases of teenage pregnancies among school-going children were on the rise and needed collaborative efforts for eradication.
“When underprivileged girls cannot afford sanitary towels, they tend to turn to young men for towels who end up impregnating them,” Agwa said.
Kisumu Water and Sanitation Company (Kiwasco) Head of Corporate Affairs Eldah Odongo said that the provision of sanitary towels to underprivileged girls was vital in keeping them in school.
“We are aware that lack of sanitary towels makes girls opt to stay at home during their monthly periods. This is the reason we have initiated the programme,” she said.
Odongo noted that lack of towels forces girls to use rags when on their menses thereby exposing them to infections.
She said most parents were unable to afford sanitary towels for their girls due to the current economic hard times which forces them to use rags which may expose them to infections.
The pupils were also educated on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and hygiene during menstruation.
The programme is funded by women in the water and sanitation sector, Kiwasco and Roddenberry and supported by FreshLife, the Kisumu County government and the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).
By Fredrick Odiero
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