BBC Radio 4 Appeal

My name is Jane Garvey and I’m a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

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In the fight to give girls in Africa an education, there is a simple but powerful tool. Half of us have probably used them. I know some of us will have them in our house right now. It's a sanitary towel.

The connection between sanitary towels and giving girls a quality education is simple: Without proper protection, girls can miss up to a week of lessons every month. Many will fall behind and eventually be forced to drop out of school – denying them the opportunities they are entitled to.

Imagine if you, your daughter, or your granddaughter couldn't get an education because of something as basic as a sanitary towel.

Help make the ambitions of young women in Africa unstoppable

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… could train a girl like Anna to make reusable towels in a vital one day workshop

Donate £34

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… could pay for a local female role model to visit three schools and inspire girls to stay in education

Donate £60

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… could train five girls, and supply the materials they will need to get started

Donate £170

Anna's story

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This is a reality for Anna. She is 13 years old and lives with her father in Kwale, Kenya. She is hard working and dreams of getting a scholarship to secondary school. One day she would like to be a doctor. But every month she is missing more lessons. She is falling behind.

Her father, like many in rural Africa, struggles to earn a living and cannot afford sanitary towels for his daughter. This means Anna goes without lunch for a whole week just to save 30 shillings a day… so that she can buy sanitary towels. She has to choose between her dream, and eating.

A simple solution

The solution to the problems faced by girls like Anna isn’t just handing out disposable towels. Instead, it is practical and truly sustainable.

Build Africa is training girls to make inexpensive, hygienic and reusable towels. An important skill that can keep a girl in school and help break a vicious cycle of inequality. The charity also works with communities to change attitudes to what is still a taboo subject – helping to increase understanding and tackle the discrimination and bullying faced by young women. They know from experience that periods are just one of the reasons why girls miss out on school – so they are committed to creating a fairer, safer environment for girls to learn in.