Huru International and o.b. have teamed up for a wonderful campaign to raise awareness. Huru International, is a non-profit organization that provides at-risk young girls in developing countries with the resources and knowledge they need to complete their education and safeguard their health.
Here, we have advantages we take for granted. One of those is sanitary protection. Did you know it is considered a luxury item in developing countries? Many girls miss three to four days of school every month.
HURU International began with a simple goal: to ensure that all young girls have the tools they need to lead self-sufficient, healthy and productive lives.
We realize that poverty and education are localized issues with far-reaching effects. According to UNICEF, one in ten African girls either skip school during their periods, or drop out entirely. As a result, they miss important school lessons and risk compromising their futures.
An incomplete education almost inevitably leads to a lifetime of social and economic vulnerability. Lacking alternatives, many uneducated girls are drawn into prostitution, putting them at a far greater risk of contracting HIV. It is a widely overlooked problem with gravely devastating consequences.
HURU partnered with the Girl Child Network to launch a preliminary investigation into the condition of girls in Kenya’s Mukuru slum. The stories the girls shared were both remarkable and strikingly similar to one another. We learned that adults who were fortunate enough to find employment in Mukuru earned an average of $4 a day, spending nearly that entire sum on basic necessities like food. Standard sanitary napkins cost 40 shillings each – an expense that simply cannot fit into the hand-to-mouth existence that most Mukuru families struggle with.
The girls who cannot afford sanitary napkins uniformly described their periods as ordeals. They expressed feelings of discomfort, anxiety and isolation – unable to attend school, play with friends, or even leave the house. Some create homemade solutions out of bits of old clothing, scraps of mattress padding and even used pads found in the trash. More than just uncomfortable and inadequate, such unsanitary substitutes leave room for infection and disease.
Most girls simply choose to stay home, avoiding the stress, uncertainty and humiliation of makeshift protection. As a result, many reported that they always felt left behind in school, unable to catch up with the work they had missed. We found that these gaps in their education were almost impossible to overcome.
What we learned by interviewing girls throughout Mukuru only strengthened our belief in the urgent need to take action. In response to this crisis, HURU developed and began distributing HURU Kits. Each Kit is packaged in a drawstring bag that doubles as a backpack, and includes reusable sanitary napkins, underwear, soap, a storage bag and educational materials.
HURU Kits are designed to help girls stay in school, leaving them open to greater possibilities. Help a young girl reach her full potential today.
The driving force behind HURU International is a simple goal to empower young girls everywhere with the basic tools they need to lead self-sufficient, healthy and productive lives.
The results we have seen so far have exceeded our expectations. The follow-up interviews we conducted showed that recipients were alive with aspirations for a future that, until recently, seemed hopelessly out of reach. We gave them the means to take charge of their health, their education and their lives.
A teacher in Mukuru shared that, while attendance among her girls had been sporadic before HURU, it was now 100%. These recipients were now attending school regularly and realizing their true potential. Many of the girls were planning to go to college, which seemed like an impossible dream in days when they missed so many lessons they were unable to keep up with assignments or pass their exams.
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Each Kit comes packaged in a drawstring bag that doubles as a backpack, and includes:
- Eight reusable sanitary napkins
- Three pairs of underwear
- Soap to wash the sanitary napkins
- Waterproof bag to safely store used sanitary napkins
- Educational insert featuring information on proper sanitary napkin usage, and HIV/AIDS prevention
- Various other items [as suitable]
Your contribution will have far-reaching results. These girls are not just passive beneficiaries: they have become HURU’s most eager and eloquent advocates. The girls described how they excitedly told their friends about the Kits, and several have come to work at HURU’s production workshop in Mukuru. The work has enabled them to earn money and achieve independence, gaining skills that will help them to secure jobs in the future.
They are also able to fulfill their newly awakened desire to help other girls in their community, and to share with them the opportunity and hope that HURU has made possible. As Lillian enthusiastically explained, “What we produce, it’s needed by the community, and…by doing this we’ll help the community. And we’ll help ourselves, so it has a future.”
We want to spread that exciting optimism. That’s why we are creating a cost-effective solution that can be tailored to multiple cultures and implemented globally.
How can YOU help?
The
o.b.® Brand wants to give you the chance to partner with them to help raise $25,000 for Huru International. Simply
share this message of Huru International with your facebook friends and o.b. brand will donate $1 to Huru when you Share-It-Forward!
- Go to o.b. mighty small Facebook page and LIKE them.
- Then “Share-It-Forward” by entering your state, agreeing to the terms, and hit “click to share”
- You are done! Tell your friends and family to do the same!
Please
take a minute to Share-It-Forward. o.b. brand will donate a minimum of $10,000 up to $25,000. Please spread the word and tell your friends!
“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of o.b. and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
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