Editorial: Pulling girls up through education

Written by Maggie Caldwell
Friday, 27 January 2012 10:47

How is it that in 21st Century there are still women in the world unable to go to school because of something so commonplace as getting one's period? Why is the second most costly item in a Kenyan woman's life sanitary pads — second only to bread?

The Greenwich-based organization ZanaAfrica is trying to address these issues, teaching health and sanitary education and providing technology to these women to help to pull them out of poverty.

According to the group's website, Kenyan adolescent girls miss 3.5 million learning days per month due to lack of funds to purchase sanitary pads. Along with losing days in the classroom and falling behind in school, the situation takes a direct toll of these girls' self-confidence, leading many to drop out and join the ranks of the unemployed, which hovers at 54% of the country's population.

The group reports that many girls and women turn to unhygienic practices, using dried cow dung or inserting cotton wool into their uteruses to block the menstrual flow. Some in the cities turn to rummaging through trash to find used pads, which they wash and reuse. This leads to all sorts of terrible health and sanitation issues, further shackling these women by their own sex.

Greenwich Academy alum Megan White Mukuria and her team at ZanaAfrica is seeking to target the root cause of gender inequality by establishing a sustainable business on the ground in Kenya that produces and distributes environmentally safe sanitary pads. Their members work with these girls providing education and support to help connect them in a community of learning.

Now the group has launched a project with an eye beyond just pulling these girls out of the garbage dumps and slums. They are providing them with technology and training to give them access to the world beyond their borders and giving them the opportunity to let their voices be heard.

ZanaAfrica is seeking donations of new or used iPads for these girls to use in the schools to access the Internet and engage in the type of learning that we here take for granted. The girls are encouraged through the group's EmpowerNet clubs not to just surf the Web, but to blog and tweet about their situation to share their experience with the global online community. The practice helps to teach them how to navigate the world of the Web, an invaluable and necessary skill in this time.

Anyone who wishes to donate an old tablet to the club may e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information about the Greenwich-based group and its mission may be found at Zanaa.org.

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