Combatting Period Poverty

In July, we partnered with Days for Girls UK to provide reusable sanitary pad kits and menstruation education to the girls residing at Kimbilio's long-term and transit homes. A volunteer traveling from the UK to Lubumbashi brought the beautiful kits in her baggage. Kimbilio's Director, Carine Bahati, completed Days for Girls' online certification in how to do kit distribution including menstruation training, and led the distribution of kits to the girls. The girls were immensely pleased to receive the kits, which should serve them well for many months to come. You can see some of the girls with Carine in the first photo, and some of the kits prior to distribution in the second photo.

Period poverty -- causing women and girls struggle to manage their menstrual cycles -- impacts more than 500 million people worldwide. It hurts their health as well as their ability to work or attend school. Stigma, the high cost of menstrual products, and lack of water and sanitation facilities are among its main causes.

In Kimbilio's home province of Haut-Katanga, period poverty is severe. The cost of disposable sanitary pads is roughly $3 per month, and an average family has several daughters. In a place where $2 per day is typical income, the cost of these pads is prohibitive. A 2018 study by UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services and the DRC government showed that in this province, 73% of girls used torn off pieces of garments as pads; only 7% of girls used proper sanitary pads. 59% of adults responsible for girls said that menstrual products are difficult to find. Apart from the product availability and accessibility challenge, most girls do not change pads at school because of the lack of privacy and confidentiality, lack of place to dispose of the pads, and lack of soap and water. This in turn leads to poor school attendance by girls when they have their periods. (Source: La gestion de l’hygiène menstruelle | Pratiques, perceptions et barrières)

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