‘Bariki Binti’, are both Swahili words. When translated independently, “Bariki” means “Bless” and “Binti” means “Girl Child or Daughter”.

Thus “Bariki Binti” when translated means “Bless the Girl Child”.

Bariki Binti is nationwide citizen campaign to supplement efforts by the Government, civil society and private sector in keeping needy girls in school through the provision of sanitary towels. By being a nationwide citizen campaign, the campaign will strive to draw support mainly from the Kenyan people and businesses.

Ultimately, Bariki Binti will strive to:

• Engender new non-traditional sources of funding to supplement Government efforts to reduce dropout rates in school-going girls in Kenya through provision of free sanitary towels
• Increase school attendance for vulnerable girls in upper primary and secondary schools
• Reduce stigma and the lack of self-esteem associated with menstruation and the lack of sanitary towels in every school-going girl child who has attained puberty.
• Eliminate as opposed to alleviate lack of sanitary towels to ALL needy school-going girls in Kenya.

Why Bariki Binti?

Kenya requires Kshs. 2.1 billion to provide sanitary towels to 4 million girls annually. The Government budgetary allocation for the year – 2014/2015 is Kshs. 400 million. This translates to 761,904 school going girls supported with adequate sanitary towels for 12 months. This leaves an unmet need of close to 3,238,096 girls in both primary and secondary schools. Private sector’s and Civil society’s efforts alone cannot close this gap given the nature of donations that is normally sporadic and often limited by traditional bureaucracies, management and logistical constraints.

Bariki Binti initiatives will endeavor to bridge these gaps. It will do so by providing platforms that will allow individuals to support needy girls directly. By offering direct support:

• The society takes over this responsibility which means that more girls will get support.
• If more girls receive support, then that means that the combined efforts of the Government, the Civil Society, and Bariki Binti will eliminate this menace completely as opposed to just alleviating it.
• The bureaucracy that is involved in procurement and distribution is considerably minimized and thus the much needed support reaches the needy girls faster.
• Only genuine needy cases will be addressed.
• The much needed awareness will be created on a grassroots level where the needy cases are more prevalent.