Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) is celebrated annually on May 28th, and at the Congo Peace School (CPS) this year, it was an extra special day: 100 sanitary kits were distributed to the female students who were in need! Recently, a few girls at Pali High in California heard about the need for sanitary kits in Congo, and partnering with the Dillon Henry Foundation, raised money to purchase locally made kits that are sustainable and washable. (See photos below.)
Our Founding Director Amani Matabaro spoke to the girls after they received the kits, as well as instructions and a health assembly led by Cito Therese, an expert in sexual and reproductive health, that focused on female health and hygiene. Part of removing the stigma around periods is inherent in Amani’s approach to equality and equity at the school: he is frank and direct when speaking about bodily functions that are normal, thus helping to break the taboos that exist in culture, and it shows – girls and women speak openly to and in front of Amani, sharing their stories, their concerns, and their challenges. The Congo Peace School also employs female nurses and counselors who are able to provide not only that safe space of open discussion, but the lived experience of menstruation.
MHD was begun in 2013 by the German nonprofit WASH United, with the 2030 goal of creating a world where no one is held back because they menstruate. This means a world in which menstruation can be managed safely, hygienically, with confidence, and without shame. The reasoning behind choosing the 28th of May? “The day is observed on the 28th day of the fifth month of the year because menstrual cycles average 28 days in length and people menstruate an average of five days each month.”
In Congo, as in many places around the world, girls miss school days simply because they don’t have the means to attend while menstruating. Unlike other schools in the area, the Congo Peace School has clean running water that, along with the kits, makes it easy for the girls to stay in school during their periods.
This month, 100 girls received sanitary kits (with more kits being made for more students coming), and several of them shared about what these kits, and the school, mean for them:
Barhashishwa Mashimango: I am a Congo Peace School student in 5th grade of secondary school (what is called a junior in high school in the U.S. system). I am 20 years old, because earlier, I had to drop out of school as I couldn’t afford the local schools here. I heard about the opening of Congo Peace School and was accepted as a student (for no cost). Being a student here is changing my life. This May, we are celebrating the International Day of Women’s Health with a focus on menstrual hygiene. I had never heard about this before, nobody talks about it, but we are breaking the taboos and myths around women’s periods. If nobody tells you about it, how can you know about it? Cito Therese is amazing, telling us everything about how to behave when you have your monthly period, she gave us practical advice, it became clear to me how to avoid infections due to bad practices about handling my period. I am so happy to be educated about my body.
Mwangaza Kininga: I am 17 years old, in the 4th grade of secondary school (a sophomore in high school). Today I got a kit to handle my periods. This is the first time anyone told me about my period, and I feel very happy and blessed. My parents never told me about my period. The Congo Peace School is a unique place.
Asifiwe Namegabe: I am 15 years old, and I am in the 3rd grade of secondary school (a freshman in high school). Getting the sanitary kit makes me very happy when I look at what it is made up of: a bucket, absorbent napkins, underwear, soap. There is no school like the Congo Peace School, the different services make me so happy. This month, the celebration of women's health with a focus on menstrual hygiene is simply amazing, and I will talk to my sisters at home and share with them what the conference was about: our period, what to do and how to do it.
Musimwa Matata: I am 14 years old, in the 2nd grade in the secondary school (8th grade in the U.S. system). I was having issues handling my periods, but now I know what to do, and I have what is necessary. I will no longer be absent from school because of my period. It was very challenging before this, every time I had my period, I either stayed home or I had to leave before the end of the school day. The Congo Peace School is the only school that takes care of our period and health in addition to providing us with quality education! I am happy.
Your investment in the Congo Peace School is not only changing lives, but making a ripple effect of change in the community, and thus the world, as these girls share their knowledge and live their lives with a new boldness to go out into the world with a greater understanding of their equality and right to be at the metaphorical tables of decision-making. Thank you!
While we celebrate all that is a success because of your support, we continue to be in need of funding to fully invest in these students and the communities of Congo. Please share the need and the exciting impact being made by partnering with the Congo Peace School with others in your world!
