In our work in the Lemanyata Valley, we learned that many girls miss 3-5 days of school per month as they are experiencing the menstrual cycle.  They miss school because they do not have any protection.  Thus it is easier to stay home and avoid any embarrassment.   This unfortunate situation could be eliminated with the use of a washable, reusable sanitary kit developed by a woman owned company in Uganda, AfriPads.  In 2019, AIFA received grant funding to initiate a girls’ menstrual health and hygiene program for Matim PS Standard 6 and Standard 7 girl students (125 kits) and girls at Mukulat Secondary School (200 kits). Since its initiation this program has been tremendously helpful to these young Maasai girls and repeated in 2020 with grant funding.  In 2021 we were able to expand the program to five schools through the generous donations of friends of A is for Africa.  

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Today we are proud to report that we have over 700  girls participating.  We have parlayed our program with another NGO, Thrive Global Project, Charlotte, NC, which added 100 more girls. The accompanying photo was taken during the conclusion of their training session.  Also there is an important success story in the creation of a woman owned business in Arusha.  Ms. Rephrin Kombe, ReePads’s Owner/Director, attested that the support from AIFA allowed her to create a local business where she employs five women seamstresses to make the reusable sanitary pads and undergarments.