By Benjamin Andanje
Nairobi County, Kenya: Teenage girls in Kenya’s Kibera informal settlements are facing challenges to access sanitary towels.
This has been heightened by the covid-19 pandemic that has caused havoc in Kenya.
Kibera, being one of the largest informal settlements in the region, is reported to have the highest number of youths ranging at 60 percent of whom a large percentage are girls.
The pandemic has made most of the girls in the slum lack supply of sanitary pads immediately after the schools had closed.
Schools have been playing a major role in the supply of pads but this has been an issue since most of them are out of school.
Those in need of sanitary towels have been going through a tough time as most lack parents or guardians to buy for them.
Lucy Apiyo aged 18, a student from Mbagathi high school reveals how the situation has been hard for her.”Since the covid -19 pandemic, the supply of pads has been a problem and since am an orphan, I can’t afford to buy.”
Staying at home and keeping a social distance so as to curb the spread of covid 19, has heightened the problem among the girls in Kibera.
Non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders who have been on the front line to supply sanitary pads have been limited by these restrictions.
Saline Atieno says, “I used to receive sanitary pads from, SHOFCO, a non-government organization working with Kibera residents on social issues, but since the pandemic struck, things have been different to me, I cannot get pads and therefore iam suffering in silence.”
Most parents and guardians have had sleepless nights trying to get jobs after they lost their jobs after the pandemic stroke.
They lack enough money to supply their daughters with pads; hence the girls seek alternative means of getting money for sanitary pads from unknown sources.
This has led to increased early pregnancies among the girls in Kibera slums.
Zachariah Odongo a father of three girls, all of them in high school confides about his struggle to make provision for his daughters, “I find it hard to supply pads to my children due to high demand of other basic needs. I lost my job following the outbreak of the pandemic and I fear this might get my girls in trouble.”
Gifted Hands community center, an organization that helps more than 6000 girls in Kibera with a supply of sanitary pads, has faced many challenges since the pandemic came too.
According to Kelvin Mukaya Obegi, due to lack of funds, it has not been easy to have a supply of sanitary pads for these girls. He adds that the cost of transport from the source to their center has been a big challenge since they lack money.
As the covid 19 numbers are surging, it’s evident that girls in Kibera are still going to struggle to get o sanitary pads.
These are good stories. Talk Africa keep up.
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