Here’s a small disclaimer…….This post will be full of lots of information about reproductive issues facing girls in third world countries, which are issues that also impact the girls that live here at the orphanage. If you are a male, and this topic makes you uncomfortable, I encourage you to continue reading anyway….sometimes we have to face things that are uncomfortable to learn about what is happening around the world, so I challenge you to read through this post and gain an education on an issue that half of the population of the developing world faces. If a problem is avoided because it might not be something you are comfortable with talking about, nothing will be done to try to find a solution to the problem.
So a few months ago, I was asked by the Matron here at the orphanage (The woman in charge of the care and well-being of the 500 children who live at the orphanage) to talk to the girls who were of menstrual age. She asked if I could talk to them for maybe 10-15 minutes about sanitary products and their use as well as menstrual hygiene. I said “Sure!” and came into the dorm where 100 or so of the girls were gathered. I gave a little blurb about menstruation, then asked if there were any questions they would like to ask me about their periods. This opened up the floor for an almost 2 hour long conversation about menstrual issues facing these girls, from issues with school attendance, to what is happening in their bodies, to hygiene, spotting, cramps, and pretty much anything else they could think of that they had never been told about before in regards to something that occurs every month in their bodies. Many of the questions they asked were questions my mom helped me work through growing up, or that were taught to me in a health class when I was in school, blessings that I had taken for granted until this meeting with these girls.
I was blown away by how they felt about something that happens to half of the population of the world.
You see, in developing countries, menstruation is something that is looked at with shame and embarrassment. Many girls don’t even leave their home when they are on their period, which means they end up missing school 20-30% of the school year. Think about this for a moment……. how successful would you be in school if you missed around one quarter of your classes?
Many girls are looked at as a burden that is to be dealt with until they are able to bring the family money when they are married through the bride price paid by the man who is going to marry her. After marriage, she will be expected to care for the home, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, and supporting her husband. In that context, many families only send their daughters to school through primary school (comparable to an 8th grade education in the US), because many consider any education beyond that as an unnecessary cost. When you add into this equation the fact that many girls don’t attend school when they are on their periods, you end up with the outcome of girls continuing to live as second class citizens with little education or chance to rise above their place in society.
Why, you may ask, do girls not attend school during their period? Here is another equation for you that may help with some context:
Imagine a package of sanitary napkins that will be enough for one month of use for a girl costs what is equal to around $3 here in Kenya. Compared to the price of maybe $5 in the US, this seems pretty affordable, right?
Well, let’s look at a family of 6 with two of the children being daughters.
In the US, lets say that this family lives on an income of maybe $60,000 a year, which is close to the median range of income in the US. This means that, out of the $5,000 per month they have, they spend approximately .001% of their monthly income on sanitary products for one of the girls in the family. With two daughter and a mom, you now have .003% of their income being used for this need.
In Kenya, this same family of 6 lives on what is equal to around $70 per month. This means that, each month, this family has to feed and clothe themselves, pay rent, school fees, and meet other needs for what a family of the same size in the US might spend on a night out at a restaurant. Purchasing sanitary products for the females in this family would take up more than 12% of the family’s monthly income.
When you have to decide between food and sanitary products, food generally wins. This means that many girls end up using things like foam from an old mattress, fabric from an old dress, feathers from a chicken, even banana leaves, during their period. This, as you can imagine, does not really work all that well, so, rather than embarrassment and shame from stains or whatnot being seen by others at school, the girl will stay home from school each month.
Shortly after the meeting with the girls I mentioned above, I shared about it with a friend of mine, Joni, who is coming to work at Omwabini in November with two other friends of mine, Mary and Jason. Joni is a social worker who is passionate about educating women and girls about reproductive issues. She found an organization based here in Kenya that is working to help girls in Kenya with menstrual issues. They create and sell something that is called a menstrual cup, you can check out the company and their mission and goals on their website here: www.ruby-cup.com. As a user of a menstrual cup, I can tell you that the information on their website is true, and it is an amazing product!
Omwabini has formed a long-term partnership with Ruby Cup that will initially allow us to purchase menstrual cups and associated needs for cleaning and maintaining them, provide education on menstruation, use of the cup, as well as follow-up for around $12 per girl! In the future, possibly even being able to distribute FREE Ruby Cups to women and girls in need at Omwabini and in the surrounding communities! A menstrual cup, when maintained properly, can be used for 10 years, so this $12 can definitely be a gamechanger in the life of a girl or a woman living in poverty!
Joni, my friend, has started a Indiegogo campaign to raise funds toward the initial purchase of ruby-cups for the girls here at Omwabini, with a goal of raising $1,500 that will impact the lives of over 100 girls!
If this issue has struck a cord in you, and you want to find out more, there are a few things you can do:
1. Visit the Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign and donate towards the project of purchasing ruby cups for girls here at Omwabini! The fundraising campaign ends on October 24, 2013, so don’t wait!! You can go to the website below, or click on the widget on the right sidebar of my blog to donate:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ruby-cup-a-game-changer-for-girls-education/x/4993760
2. Check out the product for yourself! Not only will it change your life, but it is great for the environment! Think of how many menstrual products you would use over 10 years, and imagine not having to dispose of those products, but simply reusing only one for those 10 years! There are many companies around the world that sell menstrual cups, so it is pretty readily available. I recommend checking out Ruby Cup, as they have a 1-for-1 program where, for every Ruby Cup purchased by you or your family or friends, one will be given for free to a school girl or woman in need in Kenya! Once again, their website is: www.ruby-cup.com
3. If this topic of menstrual education and empowerment is one you think needs to be brought to girls near you, I recommend all of the above, and also to check out an organization called FEBY. They have lots of Menstrual Educational Information as well as a bracelet that can be used as a tool to empower girls everywhere to know what is going on in their bodies as they continue this journey of understanding what it means to be a woman! These would be great tools to use to start this conversation with girls in schools, youth groups, classes or wherever else a group of girls gets together! This organization is also partnering with Omwabini on this project by donating bracelet kits to the girls at the orphanage to further empower their understanding of menstruation! Check out their website at: http://feby.com/
4. The Information I shared is just a small portion of the menstrual issues that impact girls in developing countries. You can simply type in “Menstrual Issues facing developing countries” in any search engine and find thousands of articles about the issue. Learn about it, and share the information with your family and friends, then figure out how you can join the movement of empowering girls and women around the world.
5. Share this post with others who may or may not be aware of this issue, on your blog, or facebook, or twitter, or wherever, and lets work together to find a way to change the lives of girls around the world!!
Full Circle 