With the theme of 2022’s International Women’s Day being “Break the Bias”, it’s the perfect opportunity to celebrate the work of our Tanzanian partner, School Girl Essentials, and the expansion of Education All Month, Every Month in schools in and around the city of Arusha.

As we have highlighted previously, African girls miss school every month - just because they are girls. Period poverty, where families are unable to afford sanitary towels or even underwear for their daughters, combined with cultural taboos mean many girls are forced to use unsanitary rags, animal skins and even chicken feathers as protection during their periods.

This makes the prospect of going to school while menstruating impossible. Missing a week’s schooling each month has an enormous detrimental impact on a girls’ progress and they often fall so far behind that they drop out of school completely, often before completing Primary School.

The result: a lack of education, hope and future – for girls and their families.

Education All Month, Every Month changes that.

The supply of sanitary towels, underwear and a social education forum make a huge difference to girls born into poverty, enabling them to attend school all month, every month.

In late 2021 and early 2022, we have been successful in securing three significant grants to support the Education All Month, Every Month programme in Kenya and Tanzania. In Kenya, our partner Watoto Kwanza is trialling the use of reusable sanitary towels, whereas in Tanzania - where reusable sanitary towels are culturally and practically the best solution - the funds are supporting the scheme’s expansion.

In fact, in the first two months of 2022, School Girl Essentials has already provided sanitary towels and an education forum to almost 650 girls in three new secondary schools. Wow! They have also started running education forums with boys so they can support their sisters, friends and classmates.

But rather than us tell you how effective these measures are, we’re passing the floor to Neema, Bembeleza, Amos, Naisula, Naima and Asha to tell you in their own words!

To help girls like Neema, Bembeleza, Naisula, Naima and Asha break the bias of school and improve their opportunities for an equal future thanks to the myriad of benefits provided by regular education, please consider making a monthly donation to African Children’s Fund so we can continue to support our partners’ work. Thank you in advance.