Agateka kwishure (Dignity at School)

A study conducted by the UNICEF in Burundi in 2016 revealed that only 17.1% of female students can afford sanitary pads for their periods and 70.2% miss an average of 4 days of school each month due to a lack of pads.Without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, they find themselves further and further behind in lessons, fail tests, get discouraged and far too often, drop out of school. 88.3% of school principals and teachers we interviewed during an impact survey in 2018 confirmed these findings.

Since 2015, we make reusable and washable sanitary pads called Agateka (dignity), which we distribute for free in schools to curb this challenge. 27,146 girls in 356 schools across Burundi currently wear Agateka pads, and none of them miss school anymore due to a lack of hygienic protection while 87% report improvements of their grades since they started using Agateka pads.

Burundi is at the heart of several socio-economic challenges that put 3 million Burundians in need of humanitarian aid in 2017 alone. This includes girls who do not have access to hygienic menstrual management products. According to the UNICEF (2016) only 17.1% of female students can afford sanitary pads for their periods and 70.2% miss an average of 4 days of school each month due to a lack of pads. This has a serious impact on their attendance of classes and their grades. Many prefer to stay at home instead of going to school, and miss an average of four days of class each month. 88.3% of school principals and teachers interviewed as part of a program impact study we conducted in 2018 confirmed these numbers. Without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, the students find themselves further and further behind in lessons, fail tests, get discouraged and far too often, drop out of school. The consequences of dropping out are devastating: early marriages and pregnancies, as well as limited career opportunities. This continues the cycle of poverty for the girls and their families.

Our solution, the "Agateka kwishure" (dignity at school) program, has two components:

1. Distribution of free Agateka menstrual pads: we make menstrual pads that are reusable, washable and wearable with or without underwear. Agateka, which means “dignity” in Kirundi, because we want all girls and women in Burundi to manage their menstruation normally and in dignity. We are the first organisation in Burundi to make menstrual pads that are washable, reusable and wearable with or without underwear. We make them using locally sourced chemical-free fabrics that are not expensive but which, combined, make a pad that is reusable while remaining absorbent and hygienic for a long period of time.
2. Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Education: all the beneficiaries of our program are automatically included in our MHM Education program. We use a combination of mobile phone SMS technology which is free to the user, pamphlets and educative short films and documentaries to deliver our curriculum, which includes knowledge tests and assessments.

The "Agateka kwishure" program is funded by the profits from the sale of Agateka pads to the general public. So far, 27,146 girls in 356 schools across Burundi have benefitted from the program, which we'd like to expand.

Agateka pads are made with locally sourced fabrics that are 100% natural and chemical-free, which makes them ideal for women who have allergic reactions to the additives found in other pads. They are wearable with or without underwear, which is important for a lot of women in the region who either cannot afford underwear or choose not to wear any for cultural and other reasons. Finally many women, especially in rural areas, appreciate the washability factor as they believe that their menses can be collected from used pads and used to perform witchcraft.

These are some of the reasons why many Burundian women prefer to use Agateka pads. We have a 5 Agateka shops across the country where we sell  them, including to local non-profit organizations who often purchase them for their beneficiaries. The profits from these sales fund the “Agateka kwishure” program. Relying on current demographic data, we estimate that, each year, 93,000 girls in the school system start having their periods and cannot afford disposable pads. These are the primary target beneficiaries of our solution.

The lack of access to adequate menstrual management knowledge and tools is a barrier to education that prevents girls in low-income communities from reaching key learning milestones. They miss an average of four days of school each month, and without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, they perform poorly and often ended up dropping out of school. The "Agateka kwishure" program is dedicated to ensuring that no more girls in Burundi miss and perform poorly school due to a lack of pads, and to limited knowledge on how to manage their menstruation in dignity and hygienically.

We are the only organisation in Burundi that makes reusable and washable sanitary pads with locally sourced recycled fabrics that are 100% natural and chemical-free. We are the only organisation in East Africa that makes such pads wearable with or without underwear, which is important for a lot of women in the region who either cannot afford underwear or choose not to wear any for cultural and other reasons.

Besides manufacturers and suppliers of disposable pads who only cater for less than 20% of the sanitary pads market, our innovation currently has no competition. The target beneficiaries of our solution are adolescent girls who are in the school system who cannot afford to buy sanitary pads on their own. Available demographic data estimate that their current number is 405,830, and that this number increases by at least 93,000, each year. Furthermore, we go beyond just distributing pads, and provide our beneficiaries with relevant, important and behavioural changing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) education. Our award-winning SRHR/MHM education program uses a combination mobile phone SMS technology, locally produced documentaries, and other educative materials to educate, sensitize and encourage our beneficiaries to manage their menstruation hygienically and adopt responsible behaviours when it comes to relationships and sexual and reproductive health. No other organisation in Burundi uses this approach.

• Agateka pads are made with recycled locally-sourced 100% natural materials. We are the only organisation in East Africa that makes reusable and washable pads wearable with or without underwear, which is important for a lot of women in the region who either cannot afford underwear or choose not to wear any for cultural and other reasons. Furthermore, the pads are offered in different sizes to cater for different flows. The pads are offered in kits of 5 pads each, and each kit has a lifetime of 3-5 years depending on the use and care.
• The mobile-phone-SMS SRHR/MHM education program is very effective and efficient in terms of results. It allows us to reach all our beneficiaries quickly and in real time, and gives them the opportunity to participate in the lessons directly, free of charge, by privately asking and answering individual questions, at all times. This innovation earned us the Segal Family Foundation's Innovative Project Award in 2013, and has been used to roll-out other programs in financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Currently, 27,146 girls in 356 schools across Burundi use Agateka pads.

In October 2017, we conducted a study to evaluate the impact of the “Agateka kwishure” program on the wellbeing of girls in school in terms of menstrual hygiene management, the reduction of infections related to the use of inappropriate menstrual management tools, and their academic performance. We interviewed students, parents and educators at 8 schools where we've implemented the program since the 2015-2016 school year. This study revealed that:

·       83% of Agateka users do not miss school anymore when they are on their periods. The 17% who do said it is because of menstrual syndromes such as pain and vomiting.

·       74% of Agateka user are more active in class thanks to Agateka pads.

·       87% of Agateka users improved their performance at school since they started using Agateka pads.

The success of the program has attracted partnerships with and investments from organizations such as the King Baudoin Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Grand Challenges Canada, the UNICEF and the Segal Family Foundation: they have reinforced our production capacity, supported our Marketing and Branding efforts and donated pads.

The goal of our program is to prove:

• the positive impact of providing free menstrual hygiene management tools in schools on the education of girls.
• that it is possible to make hygienic 100% natural chemical-free and ecological menstrual hygiene management products with locally sourced recycled materials.
• the positive impact of comprehensive menstrual hygiene management and sexual and reproductive health education in schools on the reduction of teenage pregnancies and the spread of STIs and HIV.

Thus, we aim to influence decision-makers to amend national policies to:

• guarantee free menstrual hygiene management tools to all girls in schools.
• de-tax the import of menstrual hygiene management products.
• enhance the education curriculums with comprehensive menstrual hygiene management and sexual and reproductive health and rights content. promote and support recycling and environmentally friendly operations.

The "Agateka kwishure" program aims to directly serve adolescent girls who are in the school system and cannot afford disposable pads. Available demographic data estimate that their current number is 405,830, and that this number increases by at least 93,000, each year. So far, with our limited resources, we've served 27,146 girls, while the number of girls who pads keeps increasing. On the other hand, there are at least 3.4 million Burundian women for whom Agateka pads represent better alternatives to the other (disposable) pads available on the market. The latter are either too expensive or not ideal due to their design and usability.

Our production capacity is currently limited to 225,000 Agateka kits a year: this includes kits we put up for sale and kits we distribute as part of the "Agateka kwishure" program. This is the reason why, since 2018, we've been actively looking for partnerships and investments to enhance our production capacity, the quality of our products and their packaging, as well as our marketing and sales strategies and processes in order to meet the program and market needs which we estimate between 500,000 and 700,000 kits every year.

• Production: the demand for Agateka pads is bigger than our current production capacity, even though we've been consistently opening more production facilities since 2015. On the other hand, we need to increase the quality of our pads and the packaging to make them more appealing and competitive on the sanitary pads market.
• Marketing and branding: there is a general misconception that reusable and washable pads are for the poor and disadvantaged, so we need strong communication and branding strategies to change public perceptions and position our pads as viable alternatives to disposable pads.
• SRHR and MHM education: our efforts to disseminate lessons and information about menstrual hygiene management and sexual and reproductive health and rights are hampered by the teachings our beneficiaries receive in churches and other religious organizations that are often against safe practices such the use of contraceptives.

SaCoDé, our organization, was recently awarded a spot in the inaugural Duke-UNICEF innovation accelerator, where we will gain more capacity to create a sustainable business model for the production, marketing and sale of Agateka pads. We've already been working on this thanks to partnerships and investments with/from other organizations. This will directly impact the "Agateka kwishure" program, since it's funded by the profits from the sale of Agateka products.

With regards to SRHR and MHM education barriers, we will continue to engage local administratives, community leaders and religious leaders and include them in the planning and rolling out of our sessions. We will bank on the support we have received from the national Ministry of Education and it's official approval of our training curricula.

• Executive team and Program Managers: 6
• Agateka Marketing and Production Managers: 12
• Agateka tailors: 125

We have 5 years of experience implementing the "Agateka kwishure" program at a national level. On the other hand, we have 10 years of experience delivering Menstrual Hygiene Management and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights education programs across Burundi. Our team is composed of seasoned project managers, health professionals and professional tailors. We have official authorization from the Ministry of Public Health to distribute Agateka reusable and washable sanitary pads in schools. Furthermore, our MHM and SRHR Curriculums were developed in collaboration with and approved by the same Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Education.

• SaCoDé was recently awarded a spot in the Duke-UNICEF innovation accelerator where we will gain more capacity to create a sustainable business model for the production, marketing and sale of Agateka pads.
• Thanks to a Grand Challenges Canada grant which began in 2019, we're currently rolling out a Marketing and Branding strategy to introduce Agateka pads to the general public, and we've opened a new production and distribution centre in Gitega.
• In 2018, a partnership with the King Baudoin Foundation allowed us to open a production and distribution centre in Kirundo, and implement the "Agateka kwishure" program in the same province.
• In 2017, Johnson & Johnson funded the opening of a production centre and the training of community health workers who are an integral part of our MHM and SRHR Education programs.
• The Segal Family Foundation has financially supported the "Agateka kwishure" program since 2015.

Agateka pads are commercial products. They're available for purchase to the general public, although our sales have mostly been to other non-profit and charitable organizations who purchase the pads for their beneficiaries.

Currently, each Agateka kit costs approximately US$ 3 to make and is sold approximately US$ 5. All the profits from the sales are reinvested into making kits that we distribute for free in schools. On the other hand, due to the high demand and our limited production capacity, we've been soliciting grants and donations to make more pads for the "Agateka kwishure" program. These funds represent 80% of our program's funding until now.

Thanks to grants and investments of other organizations, we are currently financially stable, although we're not yet meeting the demand for our products. That said, we're currently working on expanding our production capacity and enhancing public demand for Agateka pads in order to generate more sales revenue to fund the "Agateka kwishure" program and depend less on third party funding. 

We are looking for partnerships and funding to:

• increase our production capacity and make our production processes more efficient. We have a market of 3.4 million women, including 100,000 girls to whom we'd like to give free pads every year.
• improve the quality and presentation of Agateka pads and their packaging, to make them more appealing.
• enhance sales which will include strong marketing and branding strategies to curb the misconception that reusable and washable pads are for the poor and disadvantaged.

We are looking for partnerships and funding to:

• increase our production capacity and make our production processes more efficient. We have a market of 3.4 million women, including 100,000 girls to whom we'd like to give free pads every year.
• improve the quality and presentation of Agateka pads and their packaging, to make them more appealing.
• enhance sales which will include strong marketing and branding strategies to curb the misconception that reusable and washable pads are for the poor and disadvantaged.

The lack of access to adequate menstrual management knowledge and tools is a barrier to education that prevents girls in low-income communities from reaching key learning milestones and furthering their education. They miss an average of four days of school each month, and without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, they perform poorly and often end up dropping out of school. The "Agateka kwishure" program is dedicated to ensuring that no more girls in Burundi miss and perform poorly in school due to a lack of menstrual hygiene management tools and to limited knowledge on how to manage their menstruation in dignity and hygienically. We make reusable and washable sanitary pads which we distribute for free in schools, then provide free comprehensive Menstrual Hygiene Management and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Education using mobile phone SMS technology, among other locally developed tools.

The lack of access to adequate menstrual management knowledge and tools is a barrier to education that prevents girls in low-income communities from reaching key learning milestones and furthering their education. They miss an average of four days of school each month, and without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, they perform poorly and often end up dropping out of school. The "Agateka kwishure" program is dedicated to ensuring that no more girls in Burundi miss and perform poorly in school due to a lack of menstrual hygiene management tools and to limited knowledge on how to manage their menstruation in dignity and hygienically. We make reusable and washable sanitary pads which we distribute for free in schools, then provide free comprehensive Menstrual Hygiene Management and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Education using mobile phone SMS technology, among other locally developed tools.