In countries like Burundi, 80% of women don’t have the means to regularly provide themselves with sanitary pads, tampons, and underwear. As a result, use of inappropriate solutions is frequent and leads to many gynaecological issues. The lack of access to sanitary protection is also one of the leading causes of early school leaving for girls.
World Vision has been distributing reusable feminine hygienic kits to young girls in Burundi. At Rukana basic school in Rugombo commune, Cibitoke province, the young girls were overwhelmed with joy after such kits were distributed to them.
The reusable feminine hygienic kits are Gift-In-Kind donations World Vision Burundi received from its Support office.
Girls in Rukana community had been using unhealthy tissues provided by their mothers, tools that could not fail to have harmful effects.
"Our discussions are about hygiene during menses, and these pieces of fabric they had been receiving from their mothers contain microbes. I told them that once they felt an itch, they should approach me for advice", says Daphrose, a school aunt.
By the time Magnifique entered puberty, her mother offered her two pieces of clothing from her old cloth for her hygiene.
"The pieces of clothing were not strong or of quality, they leaked and I could remain at home for a while which prompted me to be absent from school against my will", shares 16 years old Magnifique.
After World Vision revitalized the school aunt structure that was initiated by the ministry of gender and human rights, the school aunt at Rukana basic school approached World Vision to explore whether the organization could help out with a few pieces of dignity kits, which it did.
According to Daphrose, absenteeism among teenage girls has considerably reduced thanks to dignity pads of quality distributed to them. The only issue she encounters is for new ones.
"The ones distributed are so special, and well-crafted to the extent of making the one using it not to worry as they use it ", joyfully shares Daphrose.
For Magnifique and her peers, issues of not moving around during the menstrual period is something of the past and has contributed to improve of the dignity of the girl child and school performance.
"Before we were supported with reusable dignity pads, we had peers who felt stigmatized by boys who had seen stains left by menses on their skirts and they dropped out". “I am thankful for the support, now I don’t have to worry or be absent from school", says Magnifique.
World Vision has distributed dignity pads to 118 basic schools in Rugombo and Mugina communes and has also initiated young girls on how to craft them locally.
At World Vision Burundi, the Gift-In-Kind (GIK) donations have been integrated in programmes and projects execution to impact communities and create a hope to Burundian children and communities. This involves linkage to the child wellbeing objectives, outcomes, outputs and activities.