We are very pleased to announce that OKIA Tanzania (Our Kids in Africa) is our new partner organisation. OKIA Tanzania is a local organisation in Arusha that has long-standing experience in working with girls’ and women’s rights. OKIA’s program manager, Cate Lasway, grew up in the area and has experienced similar problems that the girls are facing today. One problem is the lack of information about menstruation and the availability of feminine hygiene products. In the countryside outside Arusha, many people cannot afford to buy menstrual hygiene products, which means that they make their own hygiene products to stop the menstrual bleeding. Such menstrual products often consist of pieces of fabric, newspaper, ash or clay mixed with grass, which contributes to infections in the genital area and poses an increased risk of sterilization. Generally speaking, menstruation still is a delicate subject in Tanzania. Everyday activities such as spending time at home, sleeping in their own bed, touching food and water, or participating in religious activities are limited during a woman’s or girl’s period. More often than not, young girls cannot even talk to their parents about the subject.

The lack of information about menstruation and the lack of sanitary pads also mean that girls miss school approximately one week per month. As many as 23 percent of the girls even drop out of school when they reach puberty. This is due to the circumstances surrounding menstruation, and because the schools lack running water and sanitary toilets where the girls can change their sanitary pads.

Together with OKIA Tanzania, we at Unite 2 Learn are therefore working to educate school girls and boys, teachers and surrounding communities about menstruation in order to counteract the stigma that still prevails today. By focusing on both girls and boys, we can work more sustainably to change social standards and also influence power structures in society so that all girls get the same rights as boys.

When it comes to educating people about menstruation and other rights related to women and girls, we feel it is very important to work with an external partner who knows the area in which we work and has solid experience of the subject. Therefore, we are particularly happy to welcome OKIA Tanzania as our partner in this area.