Too often in Ethiopia, when a girl gets her period it means missing school. Without reliable or hygenic sanitary products, they are too worried and ashamed to go to school. 

All those missed days of school each month add up and it’s easy for girls to fall behind. They are also more likely to suffer with serious ill-health, including reproductive tract and urinary tract infections. Many girls drop out of school (51% by Grade 8) and many grow into women with less education, less opportunity and less say in their communities.

All because they don’t have access to sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene management education.

What do we provide? 

• Each girl receives 8 washable cotton pads and 2 pairs of underwear, providing them with worry-free cover for at least two years.
• Education around managing their periods and using the pads.
• Ongoing support from key female teachers.  

All for just $10 per girl.

Where do the pads come from?

Freweini Mebrahtu is an Ethiopian woman who decided no girl should miss school because of their periods. So she opened a factory in her home town of Mekelle with the aim to produce sanitary pads that are sustainable; affordable and environmentally friendly. 

Freweini has now trained and employs close to 50 women to sew the pads from locally sourced materials. Freweini's factory provides maternity leave and was the first factory in Ethiopia to provide a free daycare to workers.

The pads are made by women and for women!

Our Pads for Girls initiative hopes to reach as many girls as possible, so we can help Freweini see her vision of Ethiopia, where all women have access to sanitary pads.