You know how you dream of the land of milk and honey and when you are on that cloud of fantasy, you are unstoppable? Nothing stands in your way, especially if the dream is shared between two people. Now imagine one shared between 3 ambitious and energetic young humans! You make plans to conquer the world and wake up the next morning feeling like you have already done it — Until you actually start doing it. This is the story of the future King and Queens who made a difference.
The journey begins back in 2020 when three friends become aligned with one cause. COVID-19 had just struck and the world as we knew it was turning upside down. In Kenya, a crisis stood out — The menstrual hygiene crisis. The alarming rise of teenage pregnancies in the four months that followed COVID-19. Because they were part of a behaviour communications team that was digging into the issue through hosting webinars, they got to hear stories from the horse’s mouth.
Apparently, most of the youth were so idle that sex felt like the most viable form of P.E. But one of the more concerning reasons that came out and cut across the vast counties in Kenya was that most girls had challenges accessing sanitary pads. We later found out that these were just testimonies accounting for 65% of affected women and girls in Kenya.
More research only revealed what was hidden in that Pandora’s box. So at that time, we realised that 50% of this group only talk about their menstruation at home.
Even more, we found out that private places to change during that time of the month, are also a challenge with only 32% of rural schools having such places. Moreover, in rural areas, 13% of girls get their pads from sexual partners, signalling a form of exchange.
This and more facts about the state of menstrual hygiene in Kenya left us in shock. But we did not remain static. We decided to do something about it. Using our different prowess — the techy, the scientist/strategist and the communications expert set out to make a difference. With no money and no connections but just a vision — Us4Her was born. Learn more about us here.
It has been hard. From the cloud to the ground things were so different — kwa ground…! First was the financial weight that hit us so hard. We fund-raised and got cash out of our own pockets but the small boat with a 1000 kg rock was just not floating. We were in uncharted waters and we needed to learn fast.
Then came management and operations. We were lost, the cloud was slowly turning into a rock — still unstoppable. We had arguments and differences that made teamwork a daunting task. Our careers demanded the same if not more attention and splitting ourselves wore us down. But we showed up. From the many pad drives, our innovations in the making, to the powerful social campaigns for change; we still show up and face the challenges that present themselves.
We are still not there yet. In fact, we are far from it.
As we grow we face more of them and they are scary. Having impacted over 100 girls, consistently for over 2 years now, we feel empowered. We are ready to spread our wings to get to your county that needs us. So we keep showing up and we keep making a difference.
Our future is getting to that cloud that began all this in the first place.
A world full of possibilities for women because there will be no worry about getting quality menstrual hygiene services.
We strapped ourselves ready for this rough ride because it is who we are.
It is a journey about making someone else’s life better. It is about making the world better. The hurdles are many and unforeseeable yet we are not ready to just dream. We are going to make it a reality. Join us if you share the same vision.
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