Period poverty is a global health problem.
500
million
The World Bank estimates that nearly 500 million women lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (The World Bank, 2022).
In Zambia, tens of thousands of girls miss school simply because they face challenges accessing menstrual products, menstrual education, and period-friendly facilities. This hinders their education and self-confidence and limits their ability to reach their full potential.
Period Poverty in Zambia
Girls in remote villages often resort to using torn strips of chitenge (cloth), leaves, or scrap paper during their periods or even reuse a disposable pad. The risk of infection is high, and these girls face uncomfortable and often unbearable periods.
Beliefs and traditions around menstruation differ culturally between tribes and compounds across Zambia. In some places, periods are associated with impurity, and girls aren’t allowed to play with boys, cook, or go to school. Some girls are in school for three weeks, then miss a week, which has a negative effect on their learning, personal growth, and self-esteem. Many girls associate their periods with shame and isolation from their families and the community.
Our Campaign: End Period Poverty.
We began our reusable pad campaign at Baobuyu in early 2022. Our Women’s Sewing Circle learned how to sew reusable pads for themselves, making 500 pads during their training process! During our puberty workshop with the Girl Power group at Baobuyu, we distributed 5 pads to each girl, teaching them how to clean and maintain them.
Later in 2022, we partnered with the NGO KUBUKA to do a puberty workshop with about 40 girls living in a rural village outside Livingstone. We raised enough money to distribute 10 pads to each girl at the workshop, and taught them how to use and clean them.
After all our success with the reusable pad campaign in 2022, we knew there was still more we could do. We expanded our campaign in 2023 to rural villages around Sinazongwe, Zambia, where the need for sanitary period products and puberty education is high. We partnered with the The School Club Zambia, an education-focused NGO in Sinazongwe, to distribute reusable pads to 132 girls. In 2024, we pushed our bounds further. We distributed 1500 pads to 3 different rural schools across Livingstone area.
In 2025, we hosted our fourth annual pad campaign and with the help of our incredible supporters, we raised enough to distribute pads to 84 girls in the Livingstone area! This campaign has shown us that real change happens through community and collective action. This is just the beginning and we are so excited to keep building a better future together!
