Establishing an Empower Hub for Sustainable Reusable Pad Production
Scaling Menstrual Health Solutions for Adolescent Girls and Women
Location: Southern Ethiopia, Gurage Region, Agena Woreda
Introduction
Menstrual hygiene remains one of the most persistent barriers to girls’ education and women’s advancement in Ethiopia. Many girls miss school each month because they lack safe, affordable menstrual products. Research underscores the urgency: 67% of girls lack menstrual health education, 32% miss school during their period, and those without sanitary products are 5.37 times more likely to be absent. This leads to declining academic performance, shame, stigma, and gender inequality.
To address this, Kindova Humanitarian Organization is launching Phase II: Empower a Girl with $5, centered on building a permanent Empower Hub in Agena Woreda, Gurage Region. This women-led facility will produce high-quality reusable pads designed with soft cotton layers, a waterproof barrier, and 12-18 months of durability, ensuring comfort, safety, and dignity for every girl and woman.
Why Your Support Matters
This initiative addresses far more than hygiene, it tackles systemic inequity. Girls miss critical classroom hours, often fall behind, and in many cases drop out entirely. Many rely on unsafe homemade alternatives that increase infection risk and reinforce feelings of shame. Families cannot afford commercial pads, and rural Ethiopia lacks accessible manufacturers.
Your support helps us break this cycle. By establishing a local production hub and training women to lead it, we create a sustainable supply of affordable pads while empowering girls to stay in school, pursue their goals, and build confidence free from stigma. Supporting this initiative is not just an act of giving, it is an investment in equality, education, and long-term community transformation.
Project Goals
The overarching goal is clear: ensure no girl misses school because of her period while creating dignified income for women. Phase II will achieve this by:
- Establishing a large-scale Empower Hub in Agena Woreda for reusable pad production.
- Training 50 women in sewing, quality control, leadership, and cooperative business management.
- Providing reusable pads to 25,000 girls annually, ensuring 12 to18 months of menstrual security.
- Running menstrual health education workshops to reduce stigma and promote safe hygiene practices.
- Creating a women-led social enterprise that reinvests revenue into expansion and community outreach.
The Empower Hub will function as a manufacturing center and training institute, enabling sustainable production, employment, and community impact.
The Impact of Your Support
Your contribution fuels both immediate relief and long-term change. In the first year alone:
- 25,000 girls will receive durable reusable pads.
- 50 women will gain employment, leadership skills, and financial independence.
- 8,000 pads will be produced monthly, ensuring steady access and lower costs.
- School absenteeism will decrease as girls attend class confidently and consistently.
- Community understanding will grow through culturally sensitive menstrual health education.
Long term, the Empower Hub will serve as a scalable model to be replicated across Ethiopia, reducing environmental waste, strengthening local economies, and supporting global distribution efforts.
How You Can Help
There are several ways individuals, organizations, and partners can contribute:
- Donate $5 to give a girl a reusable pad set lasting up to 18 months.
- Sponsor a woman trainee to help her gain skills and secure sustainable income.
- Support the Empower Hub’s operational needs, including equipment, solar systems, raw materials, and logistics.
- Partner with Kindova to expand distribution and launch additional Empower Hubs.
- Share this mission to raise awareness and bring more advocates into the movement.
Join Us in Making a Difference
Phase II is not just a project; it is a movement toward dignity, opportunity, and gender equality. By supporting the Empower Hub, you help ensure girls stay in school and women gain meaningful livelihoods.
Together, we can create a world where menstruation is never a barrier, only a normal part of life treated with dignity and compassion.
Join us. Empower a girl. Support a woman. Transform to a community.