Every day, 800 million women around the world have their period. The average woman menstruates for more than eight years during her lifetime – but periods are still shrouded in secrecy and taboo.

In West Pokot where the Yellowmen work, the problem for girls is made worse by the fact that despite some enlightenment as far as the taboo of menstruation is concerned, and despite the fact that several charities try to ensure that sanitary towels are available, most girls have to make do with scraps of rags instead of towels which they cannot afford.

It was Nadia’s original idea that the Yellowmen should do something about this problem and so starting in February 2018 large quantities of sanitary towels were taken to Pokot and distributed to girls in local schools. It was following this first round of distribution that some local teachers pointed out that not all girls had access to knickers with which to keep the sanitary towels in place. Therefore in September 2018, as well as further supplies of sanitary towels, 1500 pairs of knickers were purchased and delivered to Pokot. The medical and education teams delivered these and showed the girls that we do care and we will help.

In February 2019 the project continued with 2,500 pairs of knickers distributed and 804 packs of sanitary towels. The joy shown by the girls in response to these gifts was amazing. One girl said that it was not just the towels and the pants that were welcome, it was the fact that we cared enough to bring them.

The cost of supplying these girls with sufficient towels and pants is about £1600 a year – a small price to pay for such an enormous gain.

Nadia, a Yellowmen Nurse, delivering a talk on menstruation hygiene to medics in Sigor Hospital, West Pokot, Kenya