HURU International began with a simple goal: to ensure that all young girls have the tools they need to lead self-sufficient, healthy and productive lives.
We realize that poverty and education are localized issues with far-reaching effects. According to UNICEF, one in ten African girls either skip school during their periods, or drop out entirely. As a result, they miss important school lessons and risk compromising their futures.
An incomplete education almost inevitably leads to a lifetime of social and economic vulnerability. Lacking alternatives, many uneducated girls are drawn into prostitution, putting them at a far greater risk of contracting HIV. It is a widely overlooked problem with gravely devastating consequences.
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HURU partnered with the Girl Child Network to launch a preliminary
investigation into the condition of girls in Kenya’s Mukuru slum. The stories
the girls shared were both remarkable and strikingly similar to one another.
We learned that adults who were fortunate enough to find employment in
Mukuru earned an average of $4 a day, spending nearly that entire sum
on basic necessities like food. Standard sanitary napkins cost 40 shillings each – an expense that simply cannot fit into the hand-to-mouth
existence that most Mukuru families struggle with.
The girls who cannot afford sanitary napkins uniformly described their periods as ordeals. They expressed feelings of discomfort, anxiety and isolation – unable to attend school, play with friends, or even leave the house. Some create homemade solutions out of bits of old clothing, scraps of mattress padding and even used pads found in the trash. More than just uncomfortable and inadequate, such unsanitary substitutes leave room for infection and disease.
Most girls simply choose to stay home, avoiding the stress, uncertainty and humiliation of makeshift protection. As a result, many reported that they always felt left behind in school, unable to catch up with the work they had missed. We found that these gaps in their education were almost impossible to overcome.
What we learned by interviewing girls throughout Mukuru only strengthened our belief in the urgent need to take action. In response to this crisis, HURU developed and began distributing HURU Kits. Each Kit is packaged in a drawstring bag that doubles as a backpack, and includes reusable sanitary napkins, underwear, soap, a storage bag and educational materials.
Learn More about Kits
HURU Kits are designed to help girls stay in school, leaving them open to greater possibilities. Help a young girl reach her full
potential today.
