Valentine, a day revered by many because of its relation to matters of the heart. What many do not know, is that it also brings with it skeletons hidden in the past. One of these skeletons belongs to St Valentine, a bishop who defied the emperor’s orders by performing weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry — A great act of love that got him executed.
Other skeletons belong to the many goats and dogs sacrificed during Lupercalia. An ancient Roman celebration where men sacrificed goats and dogs, then used the skin of these animals to whip women, who would line up for it. According to various texts, this would further lead to lottery matchmaking and the couples selected here would only last for the period of the celebration. This to me is pretty utterly weird.
Thankfully, in the 21st century, people have completely covered these bizarre historical events with teddy bears, roses and love emojis. This demonstrates people’s ability to completely create something beautiful even from dark pasts.
My Valentine was even better. Albeit far from teddys and roses, it involved a plan for a better future for many whose beauty surpasses the roses. I am privileged to be part of an amazing group of young change-makers in The Us4Her Foundation. Our cause married the valentine’s mood because it is a cause of love.
We began making plans to impact young girls and women in Garashi, Kilifi County. Over 50% of girls and young women in Kenya can not afford sanitary pads despite there being measures put in place to address this. We have seen extreme measures even in the recent actions of Gloria Orwaba, a Kenyan senator who stained her white suit pants with red ink so that she can make a point about the menstrual hygiene crisis in the country.
Our contribution to solving the menstrual hygiene crisis this month of love involves going to Garashi, talking to them and supplying sanitary pads to at least 1000 girls. We intend to use this opportunity to understand the problem on the ground just like we have done in Nairobi’s Kibera and Majengo.
This along with starting a database from Garashi will allow us to strategically plan to implement our consistency approach in this county. Periods are a monthly struggle for those who cannot afford to manage them and therefore, one-time drives and donations do not solve the problem.
Period poverty has a ripple effect on the lives of most of these young women and girls. It has risks ranging from early pregnancy, dropping out of school, period shaming and ultimately unsuccessful futures. This also means that a good number of the Kenyan population may not be actively contributing to the economy.
I strongly believe that if the change is to happen then we must look past ourselves, capitalize on our strengths and then act. Everyone is able to do something, and in this menstrual hygiene journey — #TubadliSHE, you are invited to become part of the change.
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