Embrace Her Cycle: Promoting Menstrual Dignity of 3,705 Underprivileged Schoolgirls

Imagine this: a girl wakes up early in the morning, excited to go to school, only to realize that her period has started. The fear of embarrassment at school due to a lack of sanitary pads overwhelms her and she ends up staying at home, missing the next three to four days of school.

This unfortunate reality affects countless girls every month, forcing them to miss up to 20% of their school days every year. The cycle of absenteeism robs girls of their dignity and education as they fall behind in school, lose valuable opportunities, and face greater barriers to their future success.

Breaking the Absenteeism Cycle

This year, Village HopeCore International committed to breaking the absenteeism cycle by 60% through the Embrace Her Cycle campaign, which aims to support 3,705 underprivileged schoolgirls from across 192 schools.

Our mission is to raise funds and provide each girl with a dignity kit, containing 12 sanitary pads for an entire year, two pairs of underwear, and educational materials.

Through this initiative, HopeCore seeks to directly promote girls' menstrual dignity, ensuring they can all stay in school and pursue their education with confidence.

Our Progress So Far

Since July, the Embrace Her Cycle campaign has leveraged three community fundraising events, which include Cycling for Dignity, A Step Towards Dignity, and Walk for Dignity, to raise funds. Together with in-kind donations, these events have successfully raised funds for 1,012 out of 3,705 girls. 

• Cycling for Dignity

From 12th to 17th July, Melavin Muthamaki, HopeCore’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, made a conscious decision to use his love for cycling, to support the Embrace Her Cycle campaign. He cycled a distance of 400 km from Kenya to Tanzania and raised Ksh.195,390.32 ($1,526.49) to support 195 girls.

‘I love cycling, and I am happy to have used what I am passionate about to contribute to this meaningful cause.’’

-Melavin Muthamaki (second from the right)

• A Step Towards Dignity

HopeCore staff Bertha Muthoni walked a distance of 58.6 km on foot from Chogoria to Embu, raising a total of Ksh. 246,407.92 ($ 1,925.06) for 246 schoolgirls. Bertha was inspired to walk for this initiative because of her own teenage experience. She witnessed her close friends use rags and clothes as their sanitary towels, which lowered their confidence to interact in school during their menstruation period.

‘I am proud that my walk will help boost the confidence of 246 schoolgirls.

With a year’s supply of sanitary pads, the girls will comfortably focus on their education.’ – Bertha Muthoni

• Walk for Dignity

On September 7, HopeCore organized a major Walk for Dignity charity event that brought together communities, stakeholders, and partners to support the campaign. We raised Ksh. 494,351 ($3,862.12) to support 494 girls. Beyond fundraising, this event showcased our collective power as it brought the community together to support a common cause.

Embracing her Cycle through Menstrual Health Education

Beyond providing sanitary towels, the Embrace Her Cycle campaign also seeks to inform and educate schoolgirls about menstrual health. The campaign is integrated into our school health program, and this year, we educated 15,899 students on Menstrual Hygiene Management.

This initiative will help raise awareness as the students share the lessons they have learned with their peers and parents, ensuring a long-lasting impact on the community.

‘Since HopeCore started the menstrual topic, we now have confidence in class because even the boys know about menstruation; they no longer laugh at us.’ -Tracey, Grade 8

Our Mission Continues, and We Need Your Support.

We have made significant progress with our community fundraising events, but we have yet to achieve our goal. We have raised funds for 1,012, schoolgirls, leaving us with 2,693 girls who still need our support.

Every donation counts and gets us closer to supporting all 3,705 girls. Your contribution can directly change a girl’s life by restoring her confidence, keeping her in school, and giving her the opportunity to achieve her dreams.