Sanitary Towels Donation at Mara United School
Karen Blixen Camp in conjunction with Karen Blixen Camp Trust is always committed to uplifting the living standards of the host Maasai community through the establishment of various Community Social Responsibility (CSR) projects. Karen Blixen Camp Trust is a Kenyan non-profit organization located in the unique and fragile ecosystem of the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Together with donors and partners we support conservation of wildlife and wilderness, community empowerment, and childhood and vocational education.
Guests who come to visit the camp play a large part in donating to the various programs. Recently we had guests, Bill and Pam, who donated sanitary towels and inner wears to 94 girls in Mara United School.
Today in Kenya, menstruation is not only a health concern, but also an educational policy concern, and has become a key factor in the country’s bid to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. A UNESCO report estimates that one in 10 girls in Sub Saharan Africa miss school 5 to 6 days every month during their menstruation because they lack sanitary pads. This means that a girl who is absent from school due to menses for five days per month loses 15 learning days equivalent to 2 weeks of learning in every school term.
Our team mates at the camp, Noomali, Lorna (our only lady guide) and Esther (a trainee lady guide), were there to mentor and empower the girl child of Mara United school. They later on gave each girl sanitary towels and inner wears to the 94 girls who showed extreme gratitude towards the kind gesture from Bill and Pam, giving them hope to continue with their education without worrying about their menstrual hygiene.
Bill and Pam still plan to send additional funds to help with the good work Karen Blixen Camp Trust is doing for the girls. We as the camp fraternity wish to say a big thank you to Bill and Pam and all our other supporters for always stepping in to better the Maasai community within.