Programs that Remove Barriers to Education

Let's Talk Periods (#usikueMSHY)

Let's Talk Periods (#usikueMSHY) is Keeping a Girl in School (KGS)' flagship Menstrual Health Management (MHM) programme, dedicated to ensuring menstruation is never a barrier to education, dignity, or opportunity. Through education, advocacy, community engagement, and access to menstrual products, the programme creates safe spaces for girls, boys, parents, and communities to learn, challenge stigma, and have open conversations about menstruation.

#usikueMSHY means “Don't be shy”, encouraging young people and communities to speak openly about periods, ask questions, challenge stigma, and make menstrual health a normal conversation.

WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene)

Education cannot flourish without access to safe water, clean toilets, and proper hygiene facilities. Through our WASH program, we work with schools and communities to create healthier, safer, and more dignified learning environments for children.

Our activities include improving access to safe water, supporting the construction and improvement of toilets, installing hygiene bins, promoting handwashing and personal hygiene, conducting WASH awareness sessions, and supporting menstrual hygiene management. We also engage students, teachers, and communities in sanitation and cleanliness activities to encourage lasting hygiene practices and reduce illness and absenteeism.

Project 360

Project 360 is KGS's flagship outreach model for delivering all of its interventions to rural and underserved communities. Through an intensive 6- or 7-day school and community-based programme, Project 360 provides holistic support by integrating health, education, SRHR, mentorship, leadership, and life skills, ensuring that children have the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities they need to stay in school and thrive.

Project 360 brings together Menstrual Health, Mental Health, Mentorship, Feeding Program, Entrepreneurship and Career sessions, boys' mentorship, and the LEO Club, delivering these programmes as one comprehensive outreach tailored to the unique needs of each community.

This program has been implemented in West Pokot, Korokocho, Garashi, Gicheru, and now Homa Bay County.

BAFANA

Building African Futures and Nurturing Aspiring Men

BAFANA is a boys-focused programme designed to intentionally engage boys as positive leaders, allies, and changemakers in their schools, families, and communities. We recognise that creating an inclusive environment for girls and addressing issues such as menstrual stigma, gender inequality, early pregnancy, and violence cannot happen by working with girls alone. Boys and young men are an important part of the conversation and must be equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and values to become part of the solution.

The programme creates safe and open spaces where boys can have honest conversations about healthy masculinity, puberty, reproductive health, menstrual health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, consent, respect, leadership, and personal responsibility.

The LEO Club Program

The LEO Club Program is Keeping a Girl in School's volunteer and youth leadership programme, created in partnership with Lions Clubs International. It provides young people aged 18–30 with opportunities to volunteer, develop leadership skills, connect with like-minded people, and take meaningful action in their communities.

Through the programme, volunteers participate in community service projects, mentorship, fundraising, awareness campaigns, outreach activities, and KGS programmes. Volunteers are encouraged to identify community needs, share their skills and ideas, and take an active role in designing and implementing solutions.

The programme is open to anyone aged 18–30 who is passionate about service, regardless of their professional, educational, or personal background. Many of KGS's programmes are supported and implemented by our volunteers, demonstrating the power of young people working together to create meaningful and lasting change.