Today, millions of young girls do not attend school or are denied access to school due to stigma, hardships, and culture. These girls strive to gain an education, fulfill their potential, find employment and support their communities and families. According to UNESCO, approximately 131 million girls are not in school, with 100 million of those girls being of secondary school age. While there are numerous reasons for this, menstruation is a significant factor. According to UNICEF, nearly one in every ten African girls misses school each year due to menstruation. In reality, many girls drop out of school when they start menstruating.

At Erina Help and Care Foundation we believe that every girl deserves to be educated and given the opportunity to fulfill her dreams and reach her highest potential. To achieve this we have come up with a “PadUp a Girl” campaign. 

The Erina Help Care Foundation PadUp a Girl Campaign is aimed at providing free sanitary pad kits to vulnerable young girls in rural communities and training young women on how to use sanitary pads. We have interactive educational sessions on puberty, menstruation, personal hygiene, sexual health, and STIs. The campaigns also spread against stigmatization. 

This campaign cut across the board and involves everyone. We believe that with your support 500 girls can be kept in school and be kept healthy. At EHCF we don’t just hand out pads we also educate young girls on menstrual hygiene.   

EHCF also gets involved in community dialogues that involve men, parents, and young boys, this enables us to change the biases around sanitary pads discussion. Together, we can all break the shame and stigma associated with menstruation.

The aim is to ensure that no girl child misses school because of her menstrual circle, they should be comfortable during this time and not ashamed, and lastly, reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. 

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