800 girls from Isiolo Central have been trained on menstrual hygiene and gifted with menstrual kits in an initiative aimed at ending period stigma among school girls.
The girls, from Hope and Almasi Children Homes; and Kambi Garba, Kambi ya Juu Integrated and Uhuru Primary Schools, received the training and donations from UNFPA in partnership with Horn of Africa Institute, Kenya Red Cross Society, County Government, Rise Network, Action Against Hunger, Dream Shapers and MyBodyMyBody organization.
The initiative also sought to create awareness among school boys on the need to support girls during menstruation.
“It is evident that many school going children have no knowledge on menstruation and are sometimes forced out of school while on their menses, something that should not be happening,” Horn of Africa Institute’s board member Dokatu Wako said.
Over 3,000 sanitary towels and underwear for 300 girls and 100 boys were also issued out with each girl receiving three packets of sanitary towels.
300 tree seedlings were planted across the five schools, in a move geared towards mitigating effects of climate change, spearheaded by Rise Network, which asked learners and teachers to take care of the trees until maturity.
It has been reported that girls, especially in far flung parts of the county, sometimes use unhygienic materials during their menses with cases of stones being used also rife in some areas and neighbouring counties.
School girls lose 18 weeks out of a total of 108 weeks of learning every year due to period poverty.
Early this year, the government reported that more than one million school girls will receive sanitary pads in bid to reduce absenteeism occasioned by lacking menstrual products.
By John Majau
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