SafiCycle Menstrual Health Program

The Program

In 2023, we launched SafiCycle in Western Kenya—reaching over 1,750 adolescents with reusable menstrual underwear and comprehensive reproductive health education.

The SafiCycle Menstrual Hygiene Program aims to improve menstrual health and hygiene management for adolescent girls in rural areas. The program is designed to provide access to safe, sustainable menstrual products, education on proper menstrual hygiene practices, and break down the stigma around menstruation.​ Our goal is to empower adolescents with the knowledge and resources they need to manage their menstrual hygiene effectively, without fear or shame. We believe that by doing so, we can help improve their health, well-being, and overall quality of life.​

SafiCycle is about fostering understanding within communities. Our programming includes educating boys and men to break down stigma and promote empathy, creating a more inclusive society.

The Challenges

Adolescents across the globe are often unprepared for the onset of menstruation; they regularly lack materials for hygienically catching blood, facilities for changing and disposing of menstrual waste, spaces and supplies for the cleaning of reusable menstrual materials, and proper menstrual health and hygiene information and education. ​

65% of adolescent girls in Kenya cannot afford menstrual hygiene products, and often resort to using rags or other fabric or paper scraps for all their hygiene needs.​

Many schools lack proper sanitation facilities to address menstruation needs (including a safe, clean private location to change their menstrual products; a private and environmentally-friendly place to discard pads; and soap and clean water to wash hands afterwards). ​

Just 32% of rural schools in Kenya have a private place for girls to change their menstrual products.

The Negative Impacts

Studies from Kenya find that schoolgirls engage in transactional sex to pay for menstrual products and other basic needs. In rural Western Kenya, 2 out of 3 pad users receive pads from sexual partners. One study revealed that as many as 10% of 15-year old girls were having sex to pay for period products.

Poor menstrual hygiene can pose serious health risks, like reproductive and urinary tract infections which can result in future infertility and birth complications.

In Kenya, it is estimated that girls lose an average of 4 days of school a month due to complications managing menstruation. This costs them 165 learning days over four years of high school. ​

The Solutions

By providing safe, reusable menstrual hygiene panties, girls can stay in school longer, stay safe from infection, and stay out of the transactional environment of trading for period products.

By wearing the panties even when not menstruating, it minimizes the risks for ‘embarrassing’ leaks – encouraging girls to attend school even when it’s around the time of their menses. ​Reusable period panties only need to be changed every 12 hours, so one pair can last the entire school day. ​They are less conspicuous than reusable pads, so can reduce the shame and stigma of properly washing and drying the products. ​

100% of donated funds go toward the cost of products and distribution of supplies. Vestergaard Frandsen, Inc. (d/b/a “LifeStraw”) does not profit from your donation.

LifeStraw’s Safe Water Fund operates through a fiscal sponsorship with Players Philanthropy Fund, a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178, ppf.org/pp). Contributions to LifeStraw’s Safe Water Fund qualify as tax-deductible.