No girl’s period should force her to miss school, and this startup is making sure of that

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Growing up as a young girl in Nigeria, Folasade Bamisaye didn’t have access to sanitary pads or tampons. She would cut off parts of her foam mattress, or use scraps of clothing—sometimes even parts of her school uniform. 

Bamisaye’s lack of access to basic menstrual hygiene products didn’t just cut away at her school uniform, it also cut into her school time and prevented her from attending lessons. “I missed a lot of classes, a lot of lectures, and it interfered with my academic performance,” she says. 

Twenty years after Bamisaye finished school, Nigerian schoolgirls continue to face the same challenges when they menstruate. So, she decided to do something about it—by creating a startup that provides girls with menstrual hygiene kits in the hope that they’ll stay in school. Read more…

More about Africa, Nigeria, Social Good, Menstruation Stigma, and Social Enterprise