Episode 02: Yaye Helene Ndiaye and Kitambaa address the social inequalities that arise without an infrastructure that considers feminine hygiene needs

Kitambaa, which symbolizes and evokes ‘dignity’ in Swahili, aims to provide young African girls and women of childbearing age with washable pads that meet their hygienic needs to enable them to go to school and so to participate equitably in national development. By reducing the upheavals caused – in their education and their lives – by their periods and the lack of accessibility to disposable hygiene products and adequate infrastructure, Kitambaa provides an ecologically and financially sustainable solution while answering her community social needs.

• 40% of girls between the ages of 9 and 17 have skipped school at least once a week every time they get their period due to lack of sanitation.
• This absenteeism hurts academic performance. In some cases, girls (11.2%) drop out of school because of challenges encountered during their periods.
• Women lose 40-45% of their income during these five days.
• More than half of elementary schools did not have sanitary facilities. 52% of schools did not have a toilet, and 59% did not have access to water.

Thanks to her experience in NY, her education, and her life experience in Senegal, Yaye Helene understood very fast the importance to supplement any outside funds (NGO or donors’ funding) with local support – whether using a local Mayor’s enthusiasm or the new creation of a free zone in the country.

Y.H. Ndiaye founded the organization in 2019 and participated in the 2020 round of the AFIDBA, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international, and bilingual program dedicated to the inclusive, digital, and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International.

Guest Co-Host: Catherine Roggero-Lovisi, former President of Revlon North America


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