A while ago I shared an article with you about Periods of Dignity Initiative (PODI) and the mission they have taken on. We learned a lot about what young girls have to deal with in Kenya and other third-world countries.

One in ten African adolescent girls in remote areas miss school during their menses and eventually drops out of school because of menstruation related issues. Locally, a half a million girls miss school every month because they can’t afford sanitary protection.

Here is PODI’s mission statement:

“Periods Of Dignity Initiative envisions a society where girls will not have to worry about issues, but issues that are critical to their future well-being like academics and school work. We hope to achieve this through partnerships with like-minded individuals, raising awareness and resources that will enable us to buy and distribute the pads to the girls in the slums of Homa Bay County.

Without proper means of maintaining proper menstrual hygiene, these girls are at a higher risk of being the numbers in the statistics above. We don’t want them to be the statistics – we want them to be women who will change their societies for the better.We are in partnership with others to provide them with sanitary pads to help them manage their periods discretely.”

I’d like to share a little about one of PODI’s beneficiaries, Viola Achieng:

Viola Achieng. is a 13 year old pupil at Shauriyako Primary school in Homa Bay, Kenya.

She is an aspiring athlete, who wants to become a professional runner.  As you can imagine, practicing or performing any athletics would be very challenging, without being able to manage her periods.

Since she was enrolled in PODI and started receiving sanitary pads monthly, it has made a huge difference in her life.  Viola is able to stay in class and also participate in extracurricular activieties. Her academic grades have improved.  She has also been able to perform athletics and is the captain of her school’s girls’ athetics team. She is very appreciative of the help she receives.

She is motivated to pursue her dream of becoming a professional runner.  She hopes to  participate in races all over the world, win prizes and return to help her people.

With your help, Viola and other girls like her will have an opportunity to succeed in life.

Please take a moment to read Viola’s letter

A pack of sanitary pads costs $1. A $10 contribution goes a long way to help these young women. The bigger the contribution, the more girls that can be helped. That’s a very small amount to help them be able to continue their education, garner self-esteem, self-confidence and have a chance for a better life.

You can be a part of the change in the lives of these maturing young ladies.
Please donate below through Paypal to PERIODSOFDIGNITY@GMAIL.COM
or through PICC and make a difference!

Treasurer Bradon Chuchu will ensure that all contributions
go directly to PODI’s mission to help these girls.

Thank you.

Elseba Adhiambo, PODI

Please take a few moments to read about another one of young ladies PODI is helping:
Riziki Ivy Awang’s Story of HOPE

Note from Gail Pinder:

PODI is a cause that has become near and dear to our hearts. We hope to continue
giving you updates and to introduce you to some of the girls that are being helped.

Please feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion for an article.  Thanks!