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Wiliams, Rachel, Pitts, Caitlin, Turkana, Kenya, Days for Girls, women

Kits and training provide help and hope for women in Kenya

Written on . Posted in Kenya, MC Impact.

Rachel Williams and Caitlin Pitts, CMF team members in Turkana, Kenya, have launched a ministry that helps young women stay in school and avoid sexual predators, while starting small businesses that help other women, too!

Wiliams, Rachel, Pitts, Caitlin, Turkana, Kenya, Days for Girls, women
Rachel Williams, at right, poses with some of the girls as they leave the training with their new Days for Girls hygiene bags.

The two women were part of a Days for Girls training held in Turkana in June by a team from Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California, and knew at once that this is a program that they needed to incorporate into their Community Health Evangelism (CHE) strategy in Turkana.

“Kenya is one of the most rapidly developing nations in East Africa but is still fighting to make education and healthcare resources accessible to the average Kenyan,” said Rachel. “One of the areas where the gap between rich and poor is felt most keenly is in women’s menstrual health.”

Recent statistics have shown that 65 percent of women and girls in some areas of Kenya report being coerced into trading sexual favors for sanitary pads, and 50 percent of the nation’s school-aged girls report difficulty in consistently obtaining these necessities. This epidemic leads to girls regularly missing school and falling behind the boys in their classes.

Since the initial training in June, Rachel and Cait have helped facilitate three more trainings that provide menstrual kits for the girls.  

 

Wiliams, Rachel, Pitts, Caitlin, Turkana, Kenya, Days for Girls, women
These are the components of the Days for Girls hygiene kits.
Wiliams, Rachel, Pitts, Caitlin, Turkana, Kenya, Days for Girls, women
Cait Pitts, at left, and her translator Willyminia demonstrate how to use the kits at a Days for Girls training in Turkana.

“Each DFG kit comes with two reusable liners, eight washable pads, two pair of underwear, soap and a bag,” said Rachel. “And because these kits are made using locally-available materials, we also train women in strategic areas on how to make and sell the kits.

“We are so excited to broaden the scope of these trainings, equip local trainers and help launch women’s businesses making and selling the DFG kits,” added Rachel.  “We have seen first-hand how God uses these trainings to help women relinquish fear and shame as they see and understand that they are made in the image of God!”

Your support of this project will help Turkana women reclaim their days in school and start small businesses making and selling DFG kits! The materials for each kit cost $11 to make in Turkana.

Sponsor a kit today!

Caitlin, Days for Girls, Kenya, Pitts, Rachel, Turkana, Wiliams, women