Helping to End Period Poverty in Rwanda

Hello, my name is Emma Kenneally, a Sociology graduate of University College Cork and I'm going to do an internship in Kigali, Rwanda, with Kandaka Naturals.

Kandaka Naturals is a social enterprise through which I'll be involved with many women-empowering initiatives. 30% of Kandaka Naturals' profits go towards one of these initiatives, the Safe to Bleed project. This project donates reusable sanitary pads to local school children, which is what I am fundraising for.

The Safe to Bleed project has the aim of ending period poverty in Rwanda. Period poverty is when menstruating people are unable to afford the products they need during menstruation. In young people, this leads to them missing out on school, and therefore their education.

In Rwanda, at least 20% of school girls miss up to 50 days of school per year due to their periods.

This project is extremely important to me as I focused on how period poverty affected my fellow students when I attended University College Cork. 55% of students who responded to a survey at the time said that they sometimes struggle to afford sanitary products. This study from UCC's Feminist Society reveals how big of an issue period poverty is in Ireland.

Period poverty is an issue that affects people of all ages around the world. There is a solution. Reusable sanitary products are a sustainable and affordable way to ensure that people everywhere receive their education, gender equality and the life that they deserve.