Huru, which is the Swahili word for freedom, is a small charity based in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which provides reusable sanitary products and underwear to girls who desperately need them. Many girls, especially in rural communities report missing 3-5 days of school during their periods as they have no access to sanitary products and this translates to a loss of upwards of 216 lessons per girl over the course of a school year. This has serious personal and educational consequences, such as falling behind in class, being held back or dropping out altogether. Some girls resort to using unsafe substitutes for pads, like mattress filling, leaves or dirty cloth, and others resort to risky behaviors like transactional sex to pay for essential items, like menstrual pads, which increases their vulnerability to premature sexual debut, early or unplanned pregnancy, child marriage, and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.

Huru aims to keep girls in education by providing not only sanitary products and underwear but also education on menstruation and menstrual hygiene, sexual health, and gender based violence. This important education is not only provided to girls and women, but also to boys and men within these communities, which is a crucial step in fostering a gender equitable environment. Huru gives boys and men the knowledge they need to safeguard their own health and the skill to challenge gender norms and combat gender-based violence in their communities.

Huru's sustainable sanitary products and underwear are made in Kenya, by women and men from under-served communities, and to date their production and packaging facility has hired over 100 women and men from the local community. 

We wanted to give something back to the communities of Tanzania and of Kenya and Uganda while we visit, and for me re-visit, this stunning and wonderful part of the world, and we are asking your help to achieve this. Having raised four sons, we have always sought to encourage their awareness of the different issues experienced by girls and women across the world and this particular issue is one that I feel very strongly about. Please visit www.huruinternational.org to learn a little more of their vision for girls and for wider communities.

Thank you!

Annie & Will

Sam, Matt, Rob & Dave