From National Summit Leadership to Makini Pad Distributions in Rural Schools, your Support is Advancing Menstrual Dignity across Kenya

Dear Friend of Kenya Works,

May was a powerful reminder of what happens when we refuse to let a girl’s period stand in the way of her potential. Because of you, Kenya Works is leading national conversations on menstrual health while also standing beside students in classrooms where period poverty is an everyday reality.

Summit 2026: Leadership for Change

On 22nd May, Kenya Works convened our third annual Menstrual Health & Hygiene Summit at the Kenya Works Campus in Ongata Rongai under the theme “Together for a Period‑Friendly World.” The summit gathered 218 participants from 169 organizations and institutions government and development partners, educators and health professionals, youth leaders and disability advocates united around one goal: to end period poverty and protect girls’ dignity.

As an active member of the National Menstrual Health Technical Working Group, Kenya Works positioned the summit as a key build‑up to Kenya’s National Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration. A powerful highlight was the launch of the Makini Period Panty, a locally made reusable product that offers girls and women a sustainable, affordable and dignified way to manage their periods.

Makini Pads in Classrooms: Period Power in Practice

While national leaders gathered at the summit, your support was also changing lives in rural classrooms. Under our Future4Binti Project (our comprehensive program that advances girls’ education, menstrual health, and voice in high‑risk communities, supported by Amref and Plan International), Kenya Works commemorated Menstrual Health and Hygiene Day at Embolei Primary School. The day brought together pupils, teachers, medics and project staff for honest conversations about menstrual health, FGM, gender‑based violence, and HIV and AIDS.

Seventy‑six girls received Makini reusable pad kits and fifty boys received boxers to support their personal hygiene and dignity.

“Before Makini, I stayed home and felt ashamed when my period came. Now I can come to school, sit with confidence, and not worry the whole day.”

In that one voice is the story of thousands of girls your support is helping to keep in school, safe, and seen.

Global Allies for Menstrual Dignity

Students on the other side of the world are joining this movement too. The Interact Club of Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh, in partnership with Oshkosh Southwest Rotary and Kenya Works, recently raised more than $5,000 to support Makini pad distributions and education for girls and boys in Kenya. Young people in Wisconsin are learning about period poverty and choosing to stand with their peers in Kenya proof that compassion can span continents.

Why Your Support Matters Now

Across Kenya, too many girls still miss school because they lack menstrual products, information, and support. Through the Makini Pad Initiative and our Menstrual Health & Hygiene pillar, Kenya Works responds with locally made reusable products, rights‑based education for girls and boys, intentional male‑engagement so they can support and help break period stigma, and advocacy that reaches from classrooms to national policy tables.

The 2026 Summit, the launch of the Makini Period Panty, the Future4Binti distributions, and youth‑led efforts like Lourdes Academy’s “Ending Period Poverty in Kenya” project are all part of a growing, hopeful movement toward a truly period‑friendly world.

Will you help us reach more students and deepen our impact in the coming months?

Give now, Advance menstrual dignity.

WITH GRATITUDE,

THE KENYA WORKS TEAM.