Embrace Her Cycle: Pads to Keep Girls in School

Dear Partner,

It has been a purposeful start to the year. Although schools were closed in November and December and we could not conduct distributions during the holidays, your support positioned us to move effectively as soon as learning resumed.

Since reopening, thanks to you, 5,779 students have been trained in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). These sessions focus on practical, age-appropriate knowledge that directly strengthens school retention. Two core areas we emphasized were:

• Understanding the biology of menstruation — Helping students understand menstruation as a normal, healthy biological process and addressing common myths that fuel shame and silence.
• Safe hygiene practices and self-care —Practical guidance on safe product use, personal hygiene, and maintaining dignity during a menstrual period.

Why is this training so critical? A 2025 Global Health Study (Andargie & Tinuola) found that when girls in East African schools receive both menstrual health education and sanitary products, their confidence in managing their periods at school increases from 18% to 54%. Confidence directly influences attendance, participation, and long-term retention.

Alongside training, you directly enabled the distribution of annual sanitary packs to 523 girls. Each pack is designed to last an entire school year. For these 523 underserved girls, menstruation will not interrupt their education in 2026. The UNESCO 2024 Gender Report notes that school-based MHM interventions that combine education and supplies can reduce period-related absenteeism by up to 50%. This is exactly the model you are supporting — knowledge paired with access.

This year, we are expanding our reach to 100 schools in the Tharaka zone of Tharaka Nithi County while continuing support in our existing partner schools. Tharaka is a remote, semi-arid region in eastern Kenya where families largely depend on small-scale farming and casual labor. Unpredictable weather and limited household income often make sanitary towels unaffordable, especially for the most vulnerable learners. By targeting 100 schools in this zone, we are intentionally focusing on girls who are most at risk of missing school due to a lack of menstrual supplies.

Through this work, HopeCore continues to advance Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 5 (Gender Equality) — ensuring that a natural biological process does not become a barrier to opportunity.

Because of you, 523 underserved girls no longer have to choose between their education and their menstrual period. Your kindness provided the sanitary towels they needed to stay in the classroom in 2026.

Many of our partnerships began with a simple conversation. If you know someone who believes every girl deserves to stay in school, we would love for you to connect them to this work. We invite you to stay engaged through www.villagehopecore.org, where we share success stories, monthly blogs, podcasts, and major reports. In our next quarterly report, we will share a personal success story from one of the girls whose education continues because of you.

Thank you for keeping 523 girls in school this year. We look forward to sharing our progress in the next quarter.

With Sincere Appreciation,
Meriba Mwende

Dear Partner,

HopeCore is pleased to share the remarkable progress we've made in our Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) project over the past quarter. It's such a vital area of our work, and the impact your generous support has created is truly life-changing.
A girl’s period should never be the reason she misses a day of class, but sadly, the need in Kenya is immense. Your contribution is a direct response to a significant national challenge: The UNFPA Kenya Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management Policy Brief, published in June 2025, revealed that 45.6% of girls in Kenya still face difficulties in accessing menstrual health and hygiene products (LINK).

Behind this statistic are real stories — girls who face shame, infections, and missed school days simply because of a lack of basic menstrual care. But this is precisely where you stepped in and changed the story.
Because you believe in this mission, this quarter marked a monumental milestone. We reached 5,575 girls and boys across 40 schools in Tharaka Nithi County through interactive Menstrual Hygiene Management sessions.

These sessions did more than teach — they sparked confidence, broke the silence, and inspired empathy among both genders. With your support, classrooms are becoming places of dignity and understanding, where no girl feels left behind because of her period.

These sessions are so powerful because they provide essential knowledge on menstrual health and hygiene practices, actively working to shatter the taboos that often lead to stigma and absenteeism among girls. Your support is literally fostering a safe and supportive environment in schools where both genders understand the importance of dignity and gender sensitivity.

In addition to education, your funds provided the most crucial component: the sanitary pads themselves! We were able to ensure that 599 girls received annual sanitary kits. This means 599 students can attend school with confidence and dignity for the entire year, fully equipped to handle their cycle without fear of shame or missing out on learning.

Now, as we celebrate this success, we must keep our eyes on the bigger picture. We have identified a significant gap: many vulnerable girls, especially those from the lower zones in Tharaka Nithi County, continue to struggle due to a lack of consistent access to sanitary pads. Our vision is to expand the reach of this program to those currently disadvantaged, ensuring that every learner in Tharaka Nithi can access their education uninterrupted.

Your continued partnership is the driving force behind this essential growth. Thank you so much for ensuring that the underprivileged girls have the dignity and opportunity to remain in school during menstruation!

With Sincere gratitude,
The Village HopeCore Team