What Sisterhood Feels Like

Because of the generosity of our donors, Zuri Life was able to support a woman from Mfangano in giving birth safely at a clinic, ensuring she had access to skilled care, a clean environment, and the support every mother deserves.

Her beautiful daughter is now a joyful one-year-old, growing up surrounded by love and community on Mfangano Island. This story reminds us that even a single act of compassion can ripple outward—changing not just one life, but two, and echoing through generations.

We’re overjoyed to share that she is thriving: laughing, learning, and already brightening the world around her.

Thank you for making this possible.

We began our menstrual health initiative at Wumai Secondary School, one of the most disadvantaged areas on Mfangano Island. Without access to menstrual products, many students missed several days of school each month, falling behind in their education simply because they didn’t have what they needed.

That changed when Zuri Life delivered 50 reusable menstrual pad kits to the students. Each girl received five reusable pads, underwear, soap, and a waterproof bag to store her pads while at school. Alongside these supplies, our team provided comprehensive sex education, ensuring that every girl understands her body, her health, and her rights.

Our local healthcare partner, Florence, led an engaging session on how to use and care for the pads, menstrual hygiene, and reproductive health, helping the girls gain confidence and independence.

Michelle, one of the students, shared how much the program has meant to her:

“Before, I used to stay home because I didn’t have what I needed. Now, I feel free to come to school every day. I can focus on learning.”

Teachers at Wumai have already noticed the change: improved attendance, greater participation, and renewed confidence among their students. Something as simple as a pad has opened doors to education, dignity, and opportunity.

This is just the beginning. Our goal is to reach every girl on Mfangano Island with sustainable menstrual care and education, ensuring that no student ever has to miss school because of her period. With continued community support, we can make this vision a reality. One girl, one classroom, one island at a time.

Why We Teach: The Power of Sexual Education on Mfangano

Our founders, Addah and Grace, joined forces to launch a comprehensive sexual education and female empowerment course for 18 young women on Mfangano Island. With Grace’s background in biology and Addah’s cultural insight, teaching experience, and deep connection to the island, they co-created a program rooted in science, sensitivity, and trust.

This initiative isn’t just important—it’s essential.

The Landscape in Kenya: Why This Matters

Despite Kenya’s national mandate for sexuality education in schools, comprehensive sex education (CSE) remains incomplete, conservative, and largely ineffective. In most classrooms, content still centers on abstinence-only messaging, often presenting sex as dangerous or immoral rather than equipping young people with accurate, age-appropriate, and rights-based information (2, 3, 4).

Deep-rooted cultural and religious beliefs make open conversations around sexual health taboo, creating resistance from parents, teachers, and community leaders (5, 6, 7). Teachers often lack training, confidence, or even materials to effectively deliver CSE (2, 8).

As a result, many young women in Kenya face serious consequences:

• 15% of girls aged 15–19 become mothers
  
  

• High rates of HIV and unsafe abortions persist
  
  

• Many adolescents avoid health services due to stigma and misinformation (2, 6)
  
  

What We’re Doing Differently

On Mfangano, we focus on relevance, respect, and reach. Addah and Grace’s course was tailored to the local context, grounded in evidence-based practices, and delivered in a way that honored both science and culture. Young women were encouraged not just to listen, but to ask, reflect, and advocate for themselves and one another.

We believe that young women deserve more than shame and silence. They deserve the tools to make informed decisions, protect their health, and reclaim power over their futures.

And that’s exactly what this sisterhood is about.

With more support, we hope to expand this work and continue empowering women on Mfangano through honest, accessible, and culturally sensitive sexual education.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, 60 women have successfully launched independent soap-making businesses, with 50 more projected to begin within the next year. Each participant receives hands-on technical training, mentorship, and free start-up materials, equipping them with the skills and confidence to establish and sustain their own micro-enterprises.

These women are the only soap producers on Mfangano Island, providing greater access to this essential resource and helping to improve health and hygiene across the entire community. Their work not only empowers them as business owners but also strengthens public health and local resilience.

Recently, our entrepreneurs secured a business-to-business partnership with local schools, supplying soap for students and staff. This partnership provides a sustainable source of income for the women while promoting cleanliness and well-being in educational settings—further multiplying the positive impact of their work.

To date, 80% of our women-led businesses have achieved full self-sufficiency on the Kenyan side, demonstrating the long-term viability of community-based economic development. Empowering women to generate their own income is a core part of our mission to foster sustainable livelihoods, strengthen families, and create ripple effects of opportunity across their communities.

Helen opened her home to Lisa and Grace during their stay in Mfangano and introduced them to the warm hospitality of the island. She is an inspirational mother of four, and a pillar in the community. Her home is always filled with visitors from all over the island, who are welcomed with tea, mandazi, and chapati.

Like so many women in rural Kenya, Helen understood exactly what her family needed. She just lacked the resources to make it happen.

We helped Helen send her two daughters to school by covering their school fees and uniforms. When we asked what else would make a meaningful difference, she did not ask for money, she asked for a fence.

Without a fence, Helen had to plant her crops far from her home to protect them from free-roaming animals. This meant she couldn’t manage the fields alone, and often had to keep her children home from school to help. It was a cycle that kept the whole family from moving forward.

Together, we built that fence.

Now, Helen has a small farm right in her backyard, where she can grow food to feed her family and even sell the surplus. She no longer has to rely on her children to help her farm, so they can stay in school where they belong.

Helen’s story is a reminder that dignity begins with being heard. When we listen, truly listen, we support solutions that are sustainable, empowering, and rooted in the lived realities of the women we serve.

Women and Young Girls Empowerment

Program - Mfangano Island

Situation Analysis Report

Report Collected and Compiled by:

Erick Onyango Dudi

Community Impact Coordinator

Zuri Life International

© 2025

UNITY IS PROSPERITY

ARISE & SHINE CARE CENTER

P.O.BOX 33-40101

AHERO

Website: www.ariseandshinecc.org

E-mail:info@ariseandshinecc.org, arise20shine10@gmail.com

Situation Analysis – July 2025

Mfangano Island, home to about 30,000 people in Lake Victoria, faces unique challenges due to its isolation, limited infrastructure, and restrictive cultural norms. Women and girls—especially from the Suba community—are disproportionately affected in three key areas: agriculture and food security, livelihoods, and sexual & reproductive health rights (SRHR).

Key Findings

• Agriculture & Food Security:
  
  

  • Limited arable land and dependence on rainfall restrict farming.
    
    

  • Women travel up to 8 km for vegetables, raising costs and reducing dietary diversity.
    
    

  • Few opportunities for women to own land or join agricultural value chains.
    
    

• Livelihoods:
  
  

  • Fishing dominates the economy, but women are excluded from catching fish.
    
    

  • Economic desperation fuels exploitative “fish-for-sex” practices, increasing HIV risk.
    
    

  • Lack of alternative income sources, processing facilities, and access to credit.
    
    

• Sexual & Reproductive Health:
  
  

  • Many girls use unsafe menstrual substitutes like socks or layered cloth.
    
    

  • School absenteeism during periods is common.
    
    

  • Limited family planning, reproductive health education, and HIV prevention services.
    
    

• Impact on Children:
  
  

  • Higher dropout rates, child labor, and early marriage among girls.
    
    

  • Nutritional deficiencies affecting learning and development.
    
    

Community-Driven Solutions

Immediate Priorities:

• Reusable menstrual pad production & hygiene education.
  
  

• Solar-powered fish drying and processing cooperatives.
  
  

• Local service hubs (e.g., hairdressing, soap making) to reduce travel and create jobs.
  
  

Medium-Term Goals:

• Fuel-efficient stoves and firewood conservation.
  
  

• Community-based farming with irrigation and crop diversification.
  
  

The Way Forward

The community is ready for change. With targeted, multi-sectoral interventions, we can break cycles of poverty, improve health, and empower women and girls—creating a model for other isolated communities to follow.

Thanks to generous support from our donors, Zuri Life was able to build an outdoor bathroom that serves the community on Mfangano Island. What may seem like a small structure has brought immense health, safety, and dignity to the lives of those who use it every day.

Why It Matters

In rural areas like Mfangano, the lack of proper sanitation is more than an inconvenience—it’s a health crisis. According to the World Health Organization, every $1 invested in clean water and toilets yields $4 in saved healthcare costs and improved productivity (1). Sanitary facilities help prevent the spread of waterborne illnesses, protect drinking water from contamination, and significantly reduce disease exposure for entire communities (1,2).

But the impact doesn’t stop with health.

More Than Sanitation: A Tool for Safety and Equity

Before this bathroom existed, community members, especially women, girls, and the elderly, had to resort to open defecation, often far from home. This created risks of violence, shame, and exclusion (3). A safe, clean, and accessible public toilet changes that.

It restores dignity.
It creates a space where everyone—including people with disabilities and children—can care for themselves with safety and respect (3,4).

A Ripple of Benefits

• Healthier families and lower disease rates (1,2)
  
  

• Improved school attendance, particularly for girls needing private spaces during menstruation (4)
  
  

• Environmental protection, through reduced contamination of soil and water (2)
  
  

• New jobs and community ownership, as locals take part in maintenance and hygiene education (5)
  
  

• Stronger local economy, as improved infrastructure draws visitors and boosts local pride (5,6)
  
  

This bathroom is a symbol of what happens when we invest in solutions the community truly needs—and a reminder that even the simplest things can change everything.