One in 10 girls in Africa miss school during their periods to avoid the embarrassment of bleeding through their uniforms. Many drop out of school altogether once they begin menstruating. Should young girls miss 20% of school days or drop out due to a lack of information or sanitary products?
The plain answer is NO!
There’s already a lot standing in their way, Periods shouldn’t be one of them!
Talking about periods shouldn’t be boring. To truly connect with young schoolgirls, we use what they love—comic books and animations!
PadHer makes learning about periods and puberty fun, free, and easy for young African schoolgirls in underserved communities. Our comic book series Girls Only follows Amanda, a 12-year-old girl navigating her first period, helping readers understand puberty through her journey. Our animated series features Gigi and Mimi, guided by Freya—Gigi’s older sister—as they learn about their bodies in a fun, relatable way.
Every free comic book comes with sanitary pads to help fight period poverty. We visit schools across Africa, distribute comics, and host engaging one-hour workshops on periods—all at no cost. Girls who attend receive a certificate of participation.
To reach girls beyond our physical reach, our animated series is available on TV, online, and mobile—bringing education to girls wherever they are, whether in cities or remote villages.
PadHer has reached 5 schools and 12 underserved communities in Africa, distributing over 5,000 printed comic books and 15,000 free reusable sanitary pads. By offering free downloads of our comic books on our website and Amazon, and developing an animated series to reach girls we cannot reach physically at the moment, we’ve impacted over 100,000 young schoolgirls!
Our Hybrid Model
PadHer operates as a non-profit and a social enterprise. As a non-profit, we educate young African schoolgirls in underserved communities about periods and puberty, making sanitary pads free and accessible. As a social enterprise, we sell "Girls Only" comic books and eco-friendly, low-cost reusable sanitary pads, using profits to fight period poverty. For every pad sold, we donate one free pad to a girl in need.
We’ve enhanced our innovation by translating our comic book into 15 African languages, making it easier for girls across the continent to understand and connect with the message, no matter where they live or what language they speak. In addition, we’ve developed short animations that help us reach girls in places PadHer can’t physically access yet—whether they’re in bustling cities or remote villages. These animations allow us to educate and empower more girls with accurate information about their bodies and periods. No girl left out!
PadHer partners with local NGOs across Africa to visit schools in underserved communities, teaching and mentoring young girls on effective period management. Teachers and principals can suggest their schools at https://padher.org/suggest/. Our comic books are available for free download at https://padher.org/download/, and Episode 1 of our animated series is at https://padher.org/watch/.
