For years, Salama, a 14-year-old girl in Zanzibar, missed several days of school every month due to challenges managing her menstrual health. Through the SWASH project, funded by The Big Heart Foundation, she received menstrual hygiene education, reusable sanitary pads, and access to improved gender-sensitive school facilities. Today, Salama attends school with confidence, no longer missing lessons, while thousands of other children across Zanzibar are also benefiting from a safer and more supportive learning environment.
For Salama, a 14-year-old girl in Zanzibar, missing school three to five days every month had become just another part of life. Struggling silently, she watched lessons slip away while trying to navigate a challenge most of girls of her ageface.
“I used to come to school while going through difficult times. When I went to our guidance teachers, they would tell us to go back home to take care of ourselves and return once we were okay. But while we were at home, we were missing lessons,” she recalls.
What made Salama’s experience even harder was the lack of awareness, limited access to menstrual supplies, and financial constraints. In many Tanzanian communities, especially in Zanzibar, talking openly about menstruation is still considered taboo.
Salama would lower her head and tell her teacher she had a stomachache, choosing the lie over the embarrassment of admitting she had no pads.
“It was difficult for a student to tell a teacher freely what she was going through. Instead, a child would say she had a stomachache,” School Guidance teacher Aziza, explained.
Salama shouldn't have to choose between her dignity and her education. For her, quality education means having a safe, private place to manage her cycle, so she never misses another math lesson. Salama is now one of 14462 (7304 Boys, 7158Girls) children across 10 primary schools benefiting from the Access to Improved School Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (SWASH) Facilities for Primary School Students in Zanzibar Project, funded by The Big Heart Foundation.
Through this initiative, Salama has received training on menstrual hygiene management, giving her the confidence and knowledge to care for herself and attend school consistently. But the support doesn’t stop there. Girls are provided with reusable sanitary pads, while schools receive upgrades to ensure gender-sensitive facilities. Improved toilets, private spaces, and better infrastructure directly address the reasons girls were missing lessons.
“After receiving the pads, coming to school became much easier because we no longer miss lessons like before. And my parents are also grateful because they no longer have to take money out of their pockets to buy pads,” says Salama
What was once a monthly struggle has transformed into an opportunity for Salama to stay in school, learn without interruption, and reclaim a basic right every child deserves the right to education. With the right tools, education becomes a reality, not a struggle.
Call for hope: Monitoring results from the SWASH project indicate a reduction in menstruation-related school absenteeism among girls, alongside improved knowledge and confidence in managing menstrual hygiene. Through menstrual health education, provision of reusable sanitary pads, and improved gender-sensitive WASH facilities, the project has contributed to increased school attendance and participation of girls.
