Sonko Rescues Girls After Citizen TV Feature

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in his office in October 2020
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in his office in October 2020
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Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko came to the rescue of many vulnerable girls in Kwale county after their struggles were highlighted on a Citizen TV feature.

Sonko was moved by how the girls in Kinango area were forced to improvise papers and rags as substitutes for sanitary pads since they couldn’t afford new ones

“Since I have sufficient stocks in our stores, yesterday (Sunday, May 2) I dispatched 32,000 pieces of sanitary pads and 14,000 pieces of infant pampers to my Kwale office for onward distribution to Kinango area with the help of local leadership through the office of Kinango MP Benjamin Tayari,” Sonko stated. 

Former Nairobi governor at a past function in 2016
Former Nairobi governor at a past function in 2016.
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Due to the urgency of the matter, he sent the donations via air transport to Mombasa from where they would be transported to Kwale.

The former governor thanked Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya for ensuring pads were available to all public schools before learning institutions were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the cooperation the county officers gave to his team.

According to statistics by fsg.org, about 65% of women and girls are unable to afford sanitary pads in Kenya.

Poverty and lack of enough resources leave girls and young women unable to access vital healthcare services and products.

To lower the prices of sanitary products in Kenya and improve access to menstrual hygiene, the government repealed added tax on sanitary pads.

The lack of menstrual products often stops girls from going to school when they have their period. 

Therefore, many rural women use homemade alternatives to industrially produced sanitary towels. 

In April 2021, a 12-year-old girl from England completed an extraordinary feat by walking 188km in a fundraising effort to help fight period poverty in Kenya. 

At the end of her 6-day walk, she had raised Ksh1 million for a charity in Tharaka Nithi County. 

Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya addressing the media on April 6, 2020.
Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya addressing the media on April 6, 2020.
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