On November 20, 2018, an NGO working in Kibera slums was running a programme aimed at vulnerable girls aged between 15 and 19 years, giving them access to essentials such as sanitary towels through a T-Commerce Card system.
The initiative had been in operation for two years and allowed beneficiaries to use the cards to obtain sanitary towels, contraceptives, diapers and counselling services from approved shops and service providers.
According to Daniel Orogo, the programme was designed mainly for sexually active teenagers. He said girls who came for support were counselled on HIV and early pregnancy, then awarded points they could later redeem for items including sanitary towels, diapers for their babies, sugar, unga and salt.
“The project is mainly targeting sexually active teenagers. You know some are 15 years and not active sexually. So when these sexually active teens come to us, we give them counselling on HIV, early pregnancy and then award them with points which they use to purchase stuff like sanitary towels, diapers for their babies and food stuff like sugar, unga and salt,” said Orogo.
Orogo added that girls who already had children received extra points for mobilizing other girls to attend counselling sessions.
Terry Nduta, one of the beneficiaries, said the project had helped her get diapers and food for her baby, while also enabling her to encourage other sexually active girls to seek counselling.
The programme was expected to be expanded to Mathare and Rongai.
