Tunaweza (Kiswahili: We Can Do It!): Girls Helping themselves in East Africa
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>View discussions about this entry Country: Kenya
Organization: Moving the Goalposts, in partnership with the Kids League
Sport: Soccer
Year the initative began (yyyy) 2007
Project URL: http://mtgk.org, www.kidsleaguefoundation.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? To produce and market sanitary pads using local technology, targeting girls and young women who play, or want to play, sport in East Africa
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? Two organizations, Moving the Goalposts (Kenya) (MTG) and The Kids League (Uganda) (TKL) and a school, the only girls’ secondary school in the remote town of Marsabit, Kenya have come together to tackle a huge problem facing girls and women in East Africa. That problem is menstruation. Many girls and women cannot access affordable and hygienic sanitary protection; instead, they use pieces of cloth, cotton wool, or other materials, which can be unhygienic and inconvenient. This means adolescent girls miss days of school and are less likely to participate in sports.
MTG, TKL and Marsabit girls will use technology developed by Professor Musaazi of Makerere University in Uganda to produce affordable sanitary pads to be made available to girls and young women in East Africa. They are currently at the stage of carrying out feasibility studies for the initiative. This social enterprise aims to help girls attend school regularly, play sports and provide income and employment. What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? Of the 15,000 youth in The Kids League, only 25% are girls. Research has shown that one of the reasons for so few girls participating is the lack of affordable sanitary pads. One beneficiary of MTG explained that “I don’t play football when I have my period because my blood flow is heavy and I use a piece of cloth which I’m afraid might fall as I play. Sometimes my friends help me, they give me sanitary pads and then I play.’
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? TKL, MTG and Marsabit came together with Professor Musaazi in December, 2007 to discuss the way forward for feasibility studies. The sanitary pads developed by Professor Musaazi are made from papyrus grass. This is readily available in Uganda but less available in Kenya. ICIPE (International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology) has agreed to investigate the availability of papyrus grass, or alternative raw materials, in Kenya. If the innovation is feasible it will be implemented as social enterprises, employing local young women, in all three locations. We plan to include information on reproductive health, hygiene, HIV/AIDS, sports etc in the packets of sanitary pads. This innovation, therefore, will not only provide affordable sanitary pads. It will also encourage the participation of girls in sports and provide essential information and social support to vulnerable teenage girls in East Africa.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? There will always be a demand for sanitary protection for women and girls. All three partners in this initiative work with thousands of young girls and women. It is expected that initial production will aim to supply affordable pads to girls who are in schools where MTG is active and to out of school girls involved in their programmes. In Marsabit the initial target group is girls in secondary school while in TKL the focus is on girls in camps for internally displaced people and girls who participate in their country wide sports programmes.
If this initial social enterprise proves profitable and successful in reaching its social objectives it can be expanded in all three locations. All the organizations have very strong ties with the Ministry of Education and could develop a partnership with the ministry to distribute sanitary pads through school and local outlets. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. More girls attending school regularly and exercising their right to participate in sports in East Africa
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? This is a new innovation which has grown out of a recognition of the need for girls and young women in East Africa to access affordable sanitary protection if they are to attend school and play sports. Our intended impact is to produce sanitary pads, which also include useful information for girls on health, sports, safe sex and HIV/AIDS. Girls and women in East Africa will benefit by having more hygienic sanitary wear. A number of girls and young women will benefit from being employed within the social enterprises. This will give them a regular income and economic independence to build their lives and that of their families. The organizations will also benefit by using the profit to develop more social sports activities and programmes to serve their beneficiaries. This will make them stronger indigenous organizations that are less reliant on donor funding and more sustainable.
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? This field has not been completed
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? For MTG the main barrier is a lack of capacity to implement a social enterprise. However TKL has more experience in this field and will share their skills. For TKL their main barrier is the lack of girls participating in sports. MTG can assist as it has mobilized thousands of girls to participate in football. For Marsabit the main barrier is its remote location. People travel for two days, hitching lifts on lorries, to reach the capital city,Nairobi.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? Ford Foundation financed the initial meeting in Kenya in December 2007. NESsT has provided technical expertise on social enterprise. Each organization will support their own feasibility study and the next meeting in April, 2008. If the intiative has been proven to be feasible the group will look for funding for start up costs.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. This information is for MTG only:
5.500.000 Kenyan shillings Annual revenue generated: 5.500.000 Kenyan Shillings Five full time staff, four part time staff (all women) Volunteers (all girls and young women): 30 peer educators, 5 Montioring and Evaluation volunteers, 120 field committee members, 37 referees, 17 first aiders, 90 coaches, 1 international volunteer Advisory board in Kilifi, board in United Kingdom Support from local, national, international organizations, schools and government Local, national and international donor support What is the potential demand for your innovation? The potential demand in huge. If the organizations can produce a product that is competitive in the market in East Africa they could develop a business to supply markets throughout the region. As a unique product that provides not only sanitary pads but information on reproductive health to contribute to the well being of young women in East Africa it has the potential to appeal to government ministries and donor agencies as well as individual young women.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? Accessing initial start-up capital and developing a competitive product that is profitable. However this can be done by getting the idea out into the public sphere, such as through Changemakers, so that potential supporters for start-up can hear about our initiative. Recruiting people who have good business and/or social enterprise experience will also be essential in ensuring the financial sustainability.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. This is a story of committed people in East Africa coming together to try and find a local solution to a local problem. TKL got to know Professor Musaazi and his sanitary pads technology through being based in Kampala. MTG and Marsabit were introduced to him through the Ford Foundation. After much consultation a meeting was held in December 2007 where it was agreed it would be better if we all worked together to try and make this a viable social enterprise to help girls in East Africa stay in school and exercise their right to play sports.
In the cases of MTG and TKL this innovation will demonstrate the power of sports to bring about social change. MTG is managed by young women from Kilifi. They often demonstrate that they have the most innovative solutions to their problems, if they are given a chance to voice their ideas. At a strategic planning meeting in Kilifi in 2007 girls mentioned a lack of sanitary pads as their main problem again and again. It stops them from going to school and it stops them from playing sport. It can also expose them to risky sexual situations: a number of girls in MTG talked about girls having transactional sex so that they could afford sanitary pads, soap etc. We have the power to resolve this problem by developing local social enterprises which will improve the safety and well being of girls and young women. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. This idea is about many people in East Africa: Eunice and Halima from Marsabit, who traveled for three days for the first meeting in December 2007, Professor Musaazi for his brilliant innovation, Carla from Ford Foundation for inspiring and pushing us, Loic from NESsT for his expertise and enthusiasm, Emma, Tasha, Trevor and Ann from TKL and Margaret, Lidya and all the girls who play football in MTG. Together Tunaweza! (We can do it!)
Contact Information:
sarah forde
director, M&E and research Moving the Goalposts, in partnership with the Kids League (community based organisation) Discussions about this entry |
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I commend your submittal of this project. In reality the scope is far reaching, beyond this region is 100 more locations with unsanitary products and facilities...I agree that it may be possible to convince a women's sanitary health product manufacturer to help fund this effort...A national company that distributes restroom trailers donated 3 toilet and shower facilities for a homeless encampment started by an associate friend of mine...I know it's not an exact situation, but there are entities out there that are willing to go above and beyond for the sake of their fellow man...thanks
i must say that i commend your effort for a giant step towards helping the girls afford a good cheap sanitary pad. of a truth many of our girls are really victims of using toilet tissues, cloths ete when menstrating and this poses a threat to their healths. our organisation centre for anti-prostitution and empowerment is an organisation that educates the girls on the ills of prostitution and creating avenues for them to be empowered to take steps to actualise their dream. please do tell us how to come in and ensure our girls here in nigeria are powerfully empowered to handle situations. and possibly be a part of the sanitary pads.
Dear Sarah:
Thank you for participating in this collaborative competition. We value the time and effort you’ve put forth and we would like to offer you feedback and some thought provoking questions from our Evaluation Team.
The idea of employing girls and women to produce sanitary pads locally is unique by both providing for income generation and addressing health problems. Plans for growth depend on the outcome of feasibility studies, but plans for financing if the initiative is found feasible are unclear. This information is critical to assessing sustainability.
Please use this input as both potential insights into your innovations, as well as constructive ideas for how to improve or grow your organization.
Warm regards,
The Changemakers Evaluation Team
Hi,
congratulations with your nomination to the finals.
This is a great project and I wish you every success with it.
I wonder if you know about famipads - sanitary napkins being made in Nairobi from banana leaves. Perhaps cooperating with that project could give you a head start.
There's a whole discussion about the menstruation problem on this web page. I am sure you will find some useful information:
http://www.nabuur.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6898&forum=338&post_id=83455#forumpost83455
Amina
This is brilliant and so basic -- dealing with menstruation in a way that transforms not only the regular individual experience, but links up participants in a regional, creative, and productive network. The individual is empowered in her own immediate space and is also afforded opportunities socially, economically and politically in concentric outward circles. As a regionally based response that potentially disrupts the dominant global consumer trajectory, this is also very promising. The embodied nature of sport is a perfect venue for carrying this forward. Mastery of skills for peak performance, teamwork, cooperation all fit well.
I look forward to hearing about the progress of this along with the other activities of MTG!
Tunaweza!
Martha Saavedra
Center for African Studies
University of California, Berkeley
USA
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your supportive comments. I am sure that as a network of organisations we would be keen to work with others, including large Western pharmaceutical companies. I wonder if anyone has good contacts in such companies who we may be able to start dialogue with?
Sarah
You and MTG have assembled a good coalition of groups to address this problem, Sarah, and you appear to have made genuine progress already. No woman or girl should have her health, education, or ability to participate in sports placed at risk because she can't afford adequate sanitary pads.
I realize that with papyrus grass you may have arrived at a feasible local solution to the prohibitive cost of conventional sanitary pads, but I wonder if the large, Western pharmaceutical and women's health products companies might not be interested in helping finance your efforts? It seems to me that they would have a rational business interest in funding your innovative solution.
Steve Byars
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California