Days for Girls

Kenya recently banned plastic bags. Plastic bags used to be everywhere and now, it’s very hard to find a plastic bag. In the supermarket, we were only able to find biodegradable trash bags. Not having plastic bags poses some problems, but overall, it’s a wonderful change. You can purchase reusable bags at all the large supermarkets and even at small market shops.  I’m curious to see how this all evolves as most of the reusable bags I have seen are not very sturdy. I’m curious to see what kind of recycling system gets put into place or if these bags will also end up in landfills. At least, they won’t have the same eco footprint as plastic. The other thing I am curious about is how those living in poverty are getting their goods from the market. A lot of families purchase just enough milk or cooking oil for the day and it’s always carried in a plastic bag. Overall however, the United States could learn a lot from Kenya on this one.

On Wednesday, we went to visit Fays for Girls, in part because of this ban on plastic bags. Amanda has connections with a Days for a girls sewing group in Canada. Every time she comes to Kenya, they give her menstrual kits to donate. Our friend, Jane, will facilitate handing them out because she also provides culturally appropriate education about puberty and menstruation. The kits usually contain a plastic ziplock bag, however under the plastic bag ban, the Kenya Enterprises have had to come up with a reusable version. We connected with Christine to pick up the reusable, water proof bags to add to the kits.

Christine is an incredible woman. Her story is both sad and uplifting. She now runs a Days for Girls Enterprise in Nairobi and helps manage the other Nairobi groups. We stopped by their shop and learned about their process and met some of the people who create and sell kits in their community. Christine believes that anyone who needs a lot should have one whether they can pay or not. So, whenever she can, she donates kits to women and girls in her community. Some of the women also make and sell dolls to help tell their stories and support their families. Of course - we all had to buy one!