LifeStraw Launches SafiCycle: A Bold New Program Bringing Safe, Affordable, and Dignified Period Care to Girls in Kenya
In many Kenyan communities, periods are more than a monthly challenge. They are also a barrier to education, safety, and dignity. The statistics are staggering:
- 1 in 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their period.
- In Kenya, this adds up to approximately 165 lost learning days over four years of high school.
- 65% of women and girls in Kenya are unable to afford menstrual products.
- Only 32% of rural schools have private places for girls to change menstrual products.
”Without access to period care, many girls are forced into heartbreaking and dangerous decisions, such as exchanging sex for pads or resorting to unhygienic substitutes,” says LifeStraw CEO Alison Hill. “This desperation creates a cycle of exploitation: men take advantage of their vulnerability, leading to sexual violence, coercion, and abuse. The consequences are devastating. Girls may contract STIs including HIV, face unplanned pregnancies, and are often pressured to drop out of school. Once education is cut short, their opportunities for economic independence shrink, leaving them even more vulnerable to the same circumstances that endangered them in the first place. We’re trying to break a cycle that robs girls of their health, safety, and futures.”
SafiCycle is LifeStraw’s response to this crisis, an ambitious initiative providing reusable period underwear, health education, and community support to girls in need.
“This isn’t just about periods, it’s about agency, opportunity, and safety,” says Violet Ngunjiri, Head of Global Give Back at LifeStraw. “When we give girls the tools and education they need to manage their periods with dignity, we’re not just improving their health, we’re helping them stay in school and shaping stronger futures for entire communities.”
Key Program Components:
- Reusable Period Underwear: Each girl receives a supply of reusable, comfortable, and discreet period panties that can last up to one year. These were developed with input from girls, caregivers, and teachers, ensuring cultural relevance, privacy, and comfort.
- Health Education: LifeStraw’s in-house education team works with local health and education officials to deliver personalized and school-based training on menstrual hygiene, reproductive health, and empowerment.
- Community Engagement: SafiCycle collaborates with local government offices, community health workers, school leadership, and parents to tackle harmful myths and stigma surrounding menstruation.
- Safety in Schools: The program includes an ongoing campaign to increase access to safe water and private changing facilities in schools, an essential yet often overlooked component of menstrual health management.
The Vision: 250,000 girls helped by 2030:
SafiCycle has set an ambitious target: to reach 250,000 girls with 1 million pairs of period panties by 2030. A donation of $15 supports one girl for an entire year, covering product distribution, health education, and follow-up care. The program builds on LifeStraw’s proven public health infrastructure in Kenya, where the brand has already impacted over 11 million children through its safe water initiatives.
“We designed SafiCycle to be scalable, sustainable, and community-driven,” said Alison Hill, CEO of LifeStraw. “We’ve spent years building relationships and health infrastructure in Kenya. Now we’re leveraging that to tackle one of the most persistent and preventable public health issues for adolescent girls.”
SafiCycle’s program and products are grounded in research and community input. In co-design workshops, girls shared insights about privacy, changing challenges, and the importance of feeling confident and protected at school. The result is a discreet, high-performing product that integrates seamlessly into their lives.
The pilot phase of the program reached 1,756 girls in Bungoma County in 2024. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with teachers reporting increased class attendance and participation, and girls expressing relief, confidence, and joy at having a sustainable period solution.
Cycle Up: Advocacy, Leadership + Global Sisterhood:
In support of SafiCycle, LifeStraw is also launching Cycle Up, a U.S. high school leadership and advocacy program that empowers girls to become global changemakers by raising awareness and reducing stigmas around menstrual health in both Kenya and their own communities.
Students are encouraged to form Cycle Up clubs, student-led initiatives in high schools nationwide supported by a digital toolkit LifeStraw provides. Program members have access to monthly themes and meeting guides, as well as a SafiCycle fundraising portal and leaderboard. Girls who participate will be eligible to become Youth Ambassadors who receive additional training, branded swag, and the chance to participate in SafiCycle programming in Kenya.
Join the Movement:
SafiCycle is more than a product, it’s a movement to ensure that no girl’s education, health, or safety is compromised by her period. LifeStraw is calling on individuals, organizations, and funders to support this life-changing initiative.
Learn more and donate at https://saficycle.com.
About LifeStraw
LifeStraw believes everyone deserves equitable access to safe drinking water. With humanitarian roots, the company began over 25 years ago with the creation of its Guinea worm filter, which has been instrumental in the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease. Today, LifeStraw is a Climate Neutral certified B Corp designing beautiful, simple and functional products to provide people with the highest protection from unsafe water, no matter where they live or where they source their water. LifeStraw products are used in more than 64 countries by schools, clinics, outdoor enthusiasts, adventure travelers, and households. They are regularly deployed to support communities impacted by emergencies or natural disasters requiring potable water. LifeStraw's innovative water filtration technology is rigorously tested by independent laboratories and leveraged across some of the harshest environments around the world. For every product purchased, a school child in need receives safe water for a year. LifeStraw's water filtration options are sold in retail stores in North America and Europe and online at www.lifestraw.com. Follow LifeStraw on Instagram and TikTok at @LifeStraw.
Julie L Atherton
JAM Collective
+1 415-244-2585
julie@jamcollective.net
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