Keep Girls in School

In rural Ghana, 95% of girls in rural areas reported missing school during their periods. Without access to affordable menstrual products and proper sanitation, girls may try to manage using old newspapers or even tree bark. But the discomfort, and the embarrassment often mean that getting their period means putting education--and their future--on hold.

The Yonkofa Project has teamed up with Crafting Change to provide reusable menstrual supplies to girls enrolled in junior high in the districts we serve. These are ingeniously thought-out kits and the nurses and school headmasters are providing instructions for how they are used. Most girls in our rural areas miss school during their cycles, and many drop out all together –because they cannot afford menstrual supplies. Crafting Change is a big part of helping us to keep girls in school.

If you would like to receive patterns, a starter kit of for sewing the supplies, or donate to this program, please visit Crafting Change’s page for Keeping Girls in School. They are currently preparing menstrual kits for all junior high girls in Half Assini, Ghana. The finished kits will be delivered in our cargo containers.

“By helping with this initiative, we are encouraging girls in Ghana to attend school and become leaders without being held back by the embarrassment of their periods. It means so much to me that I can make something useful (something that many of us take for granted) that will help someone's education. I know that education is a powerful tool, that it can connect girls to opportunities and change lives. We are so happy that we are able to bring those opportunities a bit closer with every reusable pad we make." –Ireland Gorecki.