Goes to school from 5AM to 5PM and then studies until 11PM? Is this normal in the area?
Pretty much. Schools market themselves by showing how many of their students performed well in National exams. It drives their perceived value up so they can charge a lot more school fees. And the common misconception is that the more time a student spends studying, the better they'll perform. Which results in their teachers overloading them with school work
Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
11–20 of 111 posts
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#12Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#13My mother has been involved in operating and supporting a network of Kenyan orphanages for decades. She's on the board of directors for the US 501c3 that funds them. The woman who founded this organization (a US citizen) adopted several of the orphans and spent most of her time for 20 years in the country operating the homes until her health decline and dimensia prevented her direct involvement. The board became aware that a director of one of the homes (keynan born man in his mid twenties and the first adoptee of the orgs founder) had been submitting false receipts and not paying land tax, had kicked out orphans and was renting the property, etc. The 93 year old, recently widowed founder did not believe the allegation and a court case (in Kenya) between her the board ensued. Predicting resolution and subsequent board control of the home, my mother quit her job in the US and moved to Kenya (planned for a year) to act as interim director, reestablished the orphanage and transition to a new local director. They instead realized that a case between two westerners, with resources to pay attorneys and court fees, was likely to be dragged out for a long time. She instead volunteered at the nursery at Kenya Children's Home for a short time before going on to help setup and operate a new clinic, built by the Freedom from Fistula[0] foundation, in Madagascar.
In our correspondence, she expressed the vital need for both incontinence and feminine hygiene supplies and consequences of a girls life without them. She explained a tragic situation: that pubecent girls would miss unpredictable amounts of school (often falling behind to the point of withdrawal/failure) without them, and that there was a very real fear of being shunned for failing to control their natural bodily functions. Projects like the one in this article, where minimal targeted investments can result in wide spread life changing outcomes are awesome and inspiring!
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#14In a strange sense, while that process helped women gain a bit of control over their bodies and their lives, which is a good thing; and while it probably also helped some girls stay in school, as some girls mentioned feeling ashamed of doing so during their period, I initially felt like a reusable solution would have been more liberating, while also respecting the environment.
But the initial feeling had to do with my westerner point of view, where resources like clean water (to wash the reusable product) are abundant, and where the products can be bought online in a few taps on a glass screen in my pocket. The context for these women is very different: learning how to build a pad-pressing machine and build a business out of it was definitely more empowering than deferring that power to an external entity for the manufacturing of reusable products.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6939026/ (available on Netflix)
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t re…
This "life tax" is hardly a surprise when most governments and boards of directors are made of mostly men, who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs). Now if there's a way to make money, suddenly it becomes an attractive subject for some, but the liberation of women with reusable products (menstrual cup, washable pads and period pants) will always come secon…
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t re…
This "life tax" is hardly a surprise when most governments and boards of directors are made of mostly men, who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs). Now if there's a way to make money, suddenly it becomes an attractive subject for some, but the liberation of women with reusable products (menstrual cup, washable pads and period pants) will always come secon…
More basically, men simply won't know or the importance won't cross their mind, even if they do kind of know.
I do my best to leave informative comments on HN with details men are unlikely to know, such as this comment:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19594977
I will add that the high cost of feminine hygiene products is a problem for a lot of poor American women. It isn't covered by Food Stamps. Homeless services have limited quantities of such things. Etc.
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
This "life tax" is hardly a surprise when most governments and boards of directors are made of mostly men, who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs). Now if there's a way to make money, suddenly it becomes an attractive subject for some, but the liberation of women with reusable products (menstrual cup, washable pads and period pants) will always come secon…
I know right, my deodorant life tax is really weighing on me these days, can't wait till we unshake the bonds of oppression put on us young males by lynx.
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#18It absolutely blows my mind that Menstrual cups aren't more widespread globally. I basically wouldn't even know about them if my partner didn't use them. They seem like a better option than tampons and pads 90%+ of the time.
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t re…
Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#19Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t re…
Notably there are also literally taxes attached to such things. Washington tried to make feminine hygiene products tax-free during this legislative cycle, but it died in committee. Hopefully it'll pass next year, but this is still crazy. https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-...