Female Empowerment Social Enterprise

Greetings from St Martins school and the KIbagare Community,

We hope that you all are doing well and are looking forward to the December break after a long year. The school here and the community have continued to do the much we can in coming up with ways to make life bearable and thanks to all the efforts, volunteers, and the community at large we have made some great achievements that we all are proud of.

In June this year, a group of volunteers, community health volunteers, and staff of St Martin School did a needs assessment for mental hygiene and management. The data was collected and analyzed. The information gathered gives us clear insights into the community we are working with the challenges we face and how best to tackle the challenges going forward.

Below are is a summary of our findings:

• 88% of Women receive regular monthly periods
• 18% of the women have a source of income
• The average income for women with a source of income is KES 5000
• The main material used during menstruation is a sanitary pad is because it easily accessible and easy to dispose
• 41% of women spend between KES 60-70 per month on sanitary towels. 13% spend KEs 100 Per month
• 54% of Women have missed out on work due to their periods. This applies to women aged between 18-34 years.
• 71% of women have missed work for 1-2 days a month while 11% have missed out 4 days or more
• 47% dispose off used sanitary pads in the near river because this is the option available for them
• 49% of women do not have a comfortable place to bath during their monthly cycles
• 41% of Women have access to clean water sometimes during their monthly cycle.

This information is very important to us as it guides us on what is best and what can be done to help make the lives of Women and girls better in the interest of this community

As we continue to work in this community and with the help we get in donations we are guaranteed that we will be able to achieve far much more going forward.

We are grateful for the support we receive and continue to receive towards this noble cause. Thank you all.

Best Regards,

Alfred Aswan.