Aruna Varsani

Second win. The moment she left the relative safety of the compound, the true scale of the morning's danger revealed itself. The path to school was a gauntlet of natural and human threats, each segment presenting a new test of her courage and wit. The first challenge was a river that swelled during the rainy season, turning from a gentle stream into a rushing, brown torrent. She had to carefully choose her crossing, her worn shoes slipping on the wet, submerged rocks, the current tugging fiercely at her legs. One misstep could mean being swept away, her schoolbag dragging her under. On the other side, the path wound through a stretch of dense brush where wild dogs sometimes prowled, and rumors of snakes kept her eyes glued to the ground. The rustle of leaves could signal a fleeing lizard or something far more dangerous, forcing her to freeze in place, heart pounding, until she was sure it was safe to move. Beyond the natural obstacles were the ever-present human dangers, which we...

First win, The girl lies perfectly still on her thin mat in the corner of the room, the darkness of the small house pressing in around her. Every sound from the other side of the cloth hanging that serves as her door sends a jolt of fear through her body. Her entire being is focused on listening, interpreting the noises from the main living area where her uncle sits. The heavy sound of his footsteps, the gruff tone of his voice, the sharp clink of a bottle, these are the signs that tell her what kind of night it will be. She has learned to categorize the sounds, to distinguish between the normal settling of the house and the movements that signal danger. When his footsteps move toward her room, her heart hammers against her ribs, and she holds her breath, praying the footsteps will continue past. This state of high alert lasts for hours, making real sleep impossible. She drifts in and out of a shallow, restless doze, her mind never fully switching off its guard, always ready to snap ba...

  An existing foundation can be a pillar to other great emerging concepts. This is what I engaged the department of fashion in Narok County.   I joined forces with the First Lady of Narok County, Her Excellency Agnes Ntutu and DTB Bank-Narok branch. Together we engaged 120 qualified tailors in a reusable sanitary pads training workshop.   This was an empowering menstrual hygiene activity that will also see the skilled tailors have oncome generating ventures

During the same ‘Wigs and Wings drive’ program visit at the Kenya National Hospital, I also interacted with male cancer patients. They did appreciate the visit and education around sanitary pads. Men experiencing prostate cancer raised a need concerning an innovation(s) that can sustain their health treatment and healing process. I am appealing to friends and well-wishers who can join me in this mission to come up with an innovation solution for the men. Reach out to me and let us continue creating avenues that boost healthy lives.    

Opportunities that see me join other like-minded groups in conducting impacting causes always delight me. October being a cancer awareness month, in collaboration with other partners through the, ‘wigs and Wings drive’, had me spend quality time with the female cancer patients at the Kenyatta National Hospital-shared the reusable pads which are plastic free. The pads will provide a healthy chemical-free living and also create a sustainable livelihood to the patients. October 27 th was a day well spent, I appreciate the organizers and other partners on board.

As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful tool with which you can change the world”. It was Mombasa volunteers turn to teach the 100 girls from Mbaraki and Bondeni primary School, who boarded the world’s largest floating book fair-Logos Hope Ship- skills on how to make reusable sanitary pads. This was a lifetime experience as the idea was just unique, Tailoring workshop inside the popular ship- together with Kenya Red cross society, they made it happen. I extend my gratitude to Kenya Ports Authority in collaboration with the Logos Hope for materializing this memorable session. The experience will forever float in these young girl’s minds as the coolest health transformational moment in their lives.

 In addition to these girls learning about safe menstrual hygiene, it is important to factor in sustainability methods of maintaining that management practice. These tailoring workshop for such hygiene menstruation helps the girls have sufficient products for use in our absence. Those days that we cannot be of reach from and they have to continue practicing, presence of this skills and pads will come in handy. This is why we equip them with the basic skills of hand stitching these pads without necessarily loosing grip of the quality to be maintained. I watched happily as the girls stitched their way out, securing a healthy future. Way to go girls.