In addressing the challenges of a girl child, a teacher in Kilifi has defied the odds to make sure girls learn in a conducive environment even when in their menses.
Kilimo primary school principal Peris Kiiru has beaten all odds to salvage the girl child education in her school, supporting them to acquire sanitary towels in order to have them settle in school.
The principal has persistently sourced sanitary towels from well-wishers and organisations despite the little allocation of pads by the Ministry of Education.
Ms Kiiru who is a National girl child champion in Kenya says his school has never had cases of early childhood pregnancy since he took over the school after her effort to make sure the children are safe from sanitary towels.
“As a school, I make sure all the girls are stocked with sanitary pads to help them learn even when in their periods. This has shielded them from sourcing very vital commodities from men outside the school a situation which has seen the school performance going up every year. It has also addressed well the issue of early and unwanted pregnancy,” she said during an interview.
Speaking to the press after receiving donor pads from a non-governmental organization ‘Usaidizi women girl child society’ Kiiru said they have managed to facilitate all her over 600 girls from grade five up to standard eight.
“All the girls in the school have received two sachets of sanitary towels and also left with 10 boxes which she says are for emergencies, especially during exams,” she said.
Further, she said the school has witnessed steady academic performance with the majority of the girls joining national secondary schools after completion of their KCPE Exams.
“Our determination is to see that the girl child is rescued from early pregnancy from the society and assist attain their dreams a situation that has made her keep on moving to see that the kids were safe,” she added.
The principal however pledged more support both from the government and private organizations and not only for her school but the entire academic fraternity across the country to see that girls’ dreams are not shuttered.
