Education is supposed to be free and accessible to all children and youth. But there are many requirements that still lock out most children from school and these unfortunately are very basic necessities that can easily escape the attention of decision makers. In Kenya, basic education upto high school is free on paper but statistics indicate that approximately 8.5% of children aged 6-9 are out of school as at 2023. Over a million children are out of school especially in arid areas and poor households mostly driven by lack of fees and school necessities, hunger and child labor. The communities we are working with fall under semi arid conditions with many households lacking basic income and face extreme food shortage. Government interventions mostly cover school fees while overlooking the other necessities that demand the parents to cover. With no or low income and compounded by hunger, most parents decide to get their children out of school, ending in child labor, teen pregnancies, crime, early marriages among other social vices. Girls are especially vulnerable with cases of sex for sanitary towels or food being recorded across the country among school going girls.
At the moment, the innovation is serving 200 children and youth in both primary and Junior secondary schools in a community of about 1000 households. Every beginning of the year, we distribute menstrual hygiene supplies including sanitary towels for girls, underwear to both girls and boys and other supplies including books and stationeries. With limited resources, we are only in a position to supply once a year. These items are fundamental for the survival of vulnerable children in school making retention and transition from one stage of learning to another possible. School supplies are crucial for foundation of numeracy and literacy which is still a struggle for most children especially in rural communities. Kenya is still experiencing a significant foundational learning crisis, with approximately 34.9% of learners unable to read and comprehend a Grade 3 English story and 42.5% unable to solve Grade 3 numeracy problems. Lack of learning resources is a key factor driving the problems.
It started with distribution of sanitary towels to about 50 girls in 2023 in one school. Afterwards, due to high requests from other schools and individuals with needs, we included 2 more primary school, 1 secondary school within the communities we work with and also students from the communities who attend school in other areas. By 2025, 200 students have benefited from the intervention.
The innovation has changed over time from only serving girls with sanitary towels to providing more school going children- both boys and girls- with important school supplies. Our current model, which we're seeking funding for, is expanded to include reading materials for the students to learn after school, practical learning tools for technical subjects, school lunches for students from households facing extreme poverty and hunger and in the future, include digital tools like educational tablets and laptops especially for students in high school. Kenya transitioned to a new curriculum- Competency Based Education- requiring schools to have additional resources as the learning has incorporated a lot of technical skills. ICT is also a mandatory subject, yet the government hasn't been able to provide the resources to most schools. Parents are left with the burden which in low income communities means that the students have to miss out of the lessons yet have to compete with others across the country.
Our innovation is simple, practical and easily adopted across different communities and even countries. Anyone who would like to try it out can do it just by getting in touch with us to brainstorm on the model and see how to modify it to their context. Our innovation is not under any copyright law, and anyone is welcome to partner or use it in their communities. To get in touch and for collaboration, please reach out on: ednachepkurui@gmail.com or info@missingthirdproject.org
