By Teresa Magenya
Forty eight women in Ongata Rongai town, Kajiado county, have benefited from a six months supply of sanitary towels through an initiative aimed tackling period poverty among girls and women in vulnerable communities by empowering women to manage their menustration with dignity.
The outreach initiative, is part of a campaign by Mkhana Collective Limited dubbed 1 Billion Pads by 2030 Project which was launched in June 2026 to expand access to menstrual products and education.
Four months into the campaign, Mkhana Collective has distributed 29,204 sanitary pads, achieving 29.15 per cent of its 100,200-pad target for 2026.
Mkhana Collective founder and chief executive officer Emmanuella Mudambo said the progress demonstrates what communities and partners can achieve when they work towards a common goal.
The organisation’s growing footprint has spread across three counties. In Nairobi, Mkhana Collective has distributed 160 complete Mkhana Kits and received an additional 404 sanitary towels through donations. In Murang’a, 32 kits were distributed followed by 48 kits in Kajiado.
Each Mkhana Kit costs 1500 Kenya shillings and contains 120 sanitary pads which is enough for an estimated six months as well as a Bloom Period Journal to encourage menstrual tracking, awareness and education.
Mudambo says the approach is designed to address both the immediate need for menstrual products among girls and women in vulnerable communities as well as the information gaps that can affect menstrual health.
“Our goal is to ensure that no girl or woman has to compromise her dignity, education or daily life simply because she cannot afford menstrual products,” said Mudambo.
The organisation’s name, Mkhana, means “a girl” in the Luhya community which Mudambo says represents a broader belief that menstruation should not prevent girls from attending school, participating in community life or pursuing their ambitions.
The campaign’s next stop will be Kiambu County where Mkhana Collective plans to distribute 100 Mkhana Kits.
