Extract from newspaper, 2011
Yes, music and underpants will today be the main agenda at the International Women’s Day Centenary Celebration at the Mathare Outreach Community Centre in Nairobi from11.30am to 2pm.
The theme of the celebration is Change Begins with Basics and will include music and poetry to inspire the children at the community centre, to recognise their potential and raise their aspirations.
This campaign was started a month ago as a private initiative called Panties with Purpose, launched by Maridadi.co.ke, and it aims to support 6,000 girls in 32 schools across Kenya with panties and sanitary pads.
According to UNICEF (2007) 1 in 10 school-age poor girls in rural areas do not attend school during their menstruation because of lack of access to underwear and sanitary towels. Consequently, a girl in high school (four years) loses 156 learning days, which is equivalent to almost 24 weeks out of 144 weeks of school time. There is no immediate short-term solution to this problem and every month more girls continue to be compromised – their dignity, health, confidence and success rate at school suffers.
