Project complete: 12 new toilets for 358 children & menstruation support for girls

Project location: Oldenderet Primary School. GPS location: -3.505583, 36.778389

Since this project, only 2 girls missed school due to their period. Previously this number was 115 girls missing 1 or more days of school due to their period.

Girls at Oldenderet deserved better…

Hygiene and sanitation for students at Oldenderet Primary was extremely poor. They had 18 shared dilapidated pit latrine toilets for 358 students which were at risk of collapsing at any time. Most cubicles had no doors or locks making it near impossible to go to the toilet privately.

Girls used old rags during their period and found it extremely difficult to privately and hygienically manage their period whilst at school causing them to stay at home 4-5 days every month which was negatively impacting their academic attainment, confidence and morale.

There was almost no menstruation hygiene management (MHM) or sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education for boys and girls. There was so much taboo around the subject that both girls and boys found it so confusing and scary.

Made with Hope, with the support of the British and Foreign School Society, were able to transform these toilets and support girls during their menstruation.

“When the girls in my class don’t feel clean, they are only focusing on this, and not on the lesson at all. The lack of MHM severely affected the daily school life of these girls.”

— Teacher at Oldenderet

The toilets before

“Due to having no safe space to manage their period, the girls at Oldenderet were in danger of several risks, the most important one dropping out of school. But now, we have been observing a significant improvement in girls attending school and the parents’ support.”

— Fortunate Mkwizu, The educational Officer Nduruma ward.

This project tackled these problems by:

Conducting 4 Menstruation Hygiene Management (MHM) and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) education to 173 girls and 185 boys to decrease taboo, and increase understanding of menstruation and SRHR.

Distributing reusable sanitary products to all girls of menstruating age to increase hygiene and confidence in managing their period.
Constructing 9 pour-flush toilet cubicles, 1 cubicle for children with disabilities, 1 changing room and a boys’ urinal area for 10 boys at a time.
Constructing handwashing facilities and an incinerator to reduce the risk of hygiene-related diseases and increase their confidence in managing their period at school.
Trained 2 teachers & 120 parents to support the students about MHM and SRHR and increase the sustainability of the project.

“Those who used old rags for their period appear to face safety and hygiene concerns, as at times dirty, discarded pieces of old fabric are used. Financial affordability has always dictated the choices of materials used, on top of that, the availability of sanitary pads is an important factor prevailing upon girls’ use of cloths. But now the girls at my school have access to safe clean sanitary pads which I am so pleased about ”

— Mr. Laurance, the Headteacher of Oldenderet.

The toilets after

Only 18 out of 26 girls passed their national exams in 2021 (69%). But since the project, 19 out of 19 girls (100%) passed their national exams in 2022.

The impact of this project at Oldenderet:

Increased knowledge of MHM and SRHR from 10% to 92%.
Increase in the number of girls getting a B or above in end-of-year exams went from 3 to 125 girls.
Decrease in girls missing school due to their period from 115 girls missing at least one day per month, to only 2 girls missing one day per month.
173 girls equipped with reusable sanitary pads which enable them to attend school.
Dramatically decreased stigma in the community towards menstruation.
Increased passes to secondary school to continue their education from 69% to 100%
Increased access to toilets for boys and those with additional needs by building 2 boys toilets, 1 disabled toilet and a large boys urinal area.

The community got stuck in!

Hundreds of Oldenderet community members came together to volunteer their time to help construct the toilets. This is something Made with Hope always do to help the community feel ownership of the project.