How the Poor Philanthropists is Fighting Period Poverty for Young Girls in Mathare

By: Gillianne Elsa

The Poor Philanthropists, a civil society based in Mathare, Kenya’s second-largest informal settlement is redefining how communities approach social justice and development. Through this inclusive lens, the organization seeks to create lasting change and strengthen the social fabric of Mathare from within. From July 2025 to January 2026, the organisation will be rolling out a project centering Reusable menstrual pads to keep girls in school in Mathare.

In 2020, the government approved the Menstrual Health and Management Policy 2019–2030, which lays out a road map to ensure that menstruators have access to information, menstrual products, services and facilities, as well as the ability to dispose of menstrual waste safely. However, despite this policy, the reality is quite different.

According to a 2022 study by World Bank Group and Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP), 65% of girls and women in Kenya cannot afford sanitary pads because of the high cost of sanitary pads.

Despite the plethora of reforms and policies around the access to menstrual products in Kenya, the reality shows that there is still much to be done for women and girls to be able to menstruate with dignity.

Through this project, the Poor Philanthropists seeks to contribute to ensuring that girls in Mathare do not drop out of school due to lack of sanitary pads.

The initiative projects to achieve three main results:

1. empower girls economically through social enterprises leading to a reduction in transactional sex, and early abusive marriages;
2. ensure girls stay in school by addressing menstrual hygiene challenges and creating menstrual health ambassadors in the community;
3. enhance the organization’s operational efficiency and effectiveness through improved organizational systems.

So far, a resource centre has been set up, and the production of reusable menstrual pads has kicked off. 20 vulnerable teenage mothers have been onboarded for skills training, and the centre has become a safe space for them.

In July, the organization distributed menstrual pads to 50 girls at Bethany Secondary School in Mathare Area 2. This initiative significantly reduced absenteeism among girls, improving their access to quality education while promoting their right to live with dignity. Building on this progress, the organization has also recruited menstrual health ambassadors and is developing a practical guide to empower community members with knowledge on maintaining dignity and reducing health risks. Together, these efforts mark an important step toward advancing menstrual health and gender equality in the community.

Initiatives like these contribute to FON’s mandate to eradicate gender-based violence worldwide through flexible funding. The Feminist Opportunities Now (FON) project aims to strengthen feminist movements by providing grants, particularly to small, unregistered organizations. The Poor Philanthropists is one of 14 CSOs whose work FON supports in Kenya.

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The Feminist Opportunities Now (FON) project contributes to the eradication of gender-based violence across 3 continents and 10 countries through flexible funding. FON aims to strengthen feminist movements by providing grants, particularly to small, unregistered organizations. With a budget of 7 million euros, the project includes a capacity strengthening component to ensure the expansion and sustainability of these approaches.