One of the most significant impediments to young women completing school in Tanzania is inadequate resources to manage their periods. This could be a lack of suitable sanitary hygiene products, inadequate washroom facilities, lack of education or a combination of all three. Those young women who reach puberty in primary school are particularly disadvantaged, by lack of facilities, programs, and social stigma.

At Trinity School, it is estimated that approximately 20 young women per year will reach puberty before they leave for Secondary School. The earliest start their periods in Primary 5. Some of these young women will be boarding students, where issues such as puberty, menstrual hygiene and sexual health tend to fall on the Matron, female teachers, and peers.

The Maarifa (self-reliance) Program at Trinity teaches practical skills to complement the academic program. As the name states, it helps students to find practical solutions to their daily (or in this case, monthly) challenges. This year we are expanding the program with a sewing component that will teach basic sewing skills to all students, and will allow those young women who have reached puberty, to make their own sanitary pads.

The first stage of this program is to purchase materials and equipment. This will allow school staff to familiarize themselves with the materials and techniques to teach primary students how to sew. We are fortunate that one of the science teachers, Mme. Felister, is an experienced seamstress, and will lead the technical and teaching side of this program.

There are many programs in support of Menstrual Hygiene in the developing world and we will build on their experience. One of our challenges is that we are working with young women in primary school, while most other projects target at a secondary school audience. These programs unfortunately don’t help those who reach puberty first.

We are also using state-of-the-art materials that are not typically available in Africa. This has been made possible by a Canadian Sewing Company, Discovery Fabrics, and their customers who have provided advice through their Facebook group. Our on-going relationship with our partners allow us to supply them with these materials in the short term while they seek out local supply solutions.

With an initial allocation of $1000 from this year’s International Service budget we will buy enough material and sewing machines to start the program. Working with both the female teachers and students in grades 5, 6, and 7, we will pick the best design and materials for our clients. Ultimately, we hope that this program can make extra sanitary pads to pay for the succeeding year’s supplies, making program self-sustaining.

A menstrual health program requires more than just sanitary supplies. At boarding school, the role of parents is taken on by teachers, the Matron, and peers. Many of these are ill-equipped to help with issues menstrual hygiene, women’s health and family planning. Support can be found with specialist NGOs who have experience in this area. One such NGO is Femme International. Based in Moshi, it has been working in this area for 10 years creating training programs for both students and staff. We have reached out to Femme and hope to engage them to create a special program for the primary students at Trinity. We are working with them on a program and seeking funding for this complimentary program. We hope to start this in the new academic year starting January 2026.