Del Monte Kenya

Murangá based food processor, Del Monte Kenya Limited (DMKL), will coordinate the distribution of 5,200 packets of sanitary pads to 900 teenage girls in several primary and secondary schools in Murangá County, to empower them to achieve their full academic potential and curb the high rates of menstrual-related absenteeism.

The girls from Kihunguro, Ndula and Nginyi primary schools and Del Monte Mixed and Ndula secondary schools, will each get over 5 months’ supply of sanitary pads from the donation which includes 2,690 packets of sanitary pads from DMKL, 2,310 packets from Sunda International (the manufacturers of Softcare sanitary pads) and 200 packets from Africa Cotton Industries (the manufacturers of Flora sanitary pads).

Part of the sanitary pads donation, will be apportioned to candidates sitting their K.C.S.E (Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Education) and K.C.P.E (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) final exams to sustain them for over five months, as they wind down their secondary and primary education respectively.

“We are committed to ensuring teenage girls in our community are equipped and empowered with information and materials to meet their menstrual health needs, so that they can focus on their education without worrying about their monthly menstrual cycles” said Margaret Nyoro, DMKL Marketing Manager.

The sanitary pads distribution drive is part of DMKL’s Women’s Health and Empowerment initiative, following a commitment it made with the United Nations Foundation (UNF) to empower the lives of more than 10,000 women, including its employees and the community, by providing them with health services and information on reproductive health cancers, contraceptives, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and menstrual health by 2024.

“Many girls are not able to access menstrual hygiene products, with Ministry of Health statistics published in 2019 indicating that 65% of women and girls in Kenya cannot afford them. That is why as a Company we came up with this menstrual health program to support teenage girls’ education and ensure that they live in dignity, while on their periods,’’ said Margaret.

Ministry of Education statistics published in 2018, indicate that girls miss 13 learning days in a term when they miss 4 days a month because of their periods. In an academic year of 9 months, this accumulates to 39 lost days, equivalent to 6 weeks of learning time.

Therefore, a girl in primary school between grades 6 and 8 (three years) loses 18 learning weeks out of 108 weeks. Within the four years of high school, a girl can lose 156 learning days equivalent to almost 24 weeks out of 144 weeks of learning. This is approx. 17% of learning time lost.

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is, “Together, we can Restore our Earth.” This is a timely reminder to all of us that we have a critical role to play in preventing the coming disasters of climate change and environmental destruction. As you are aware, The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for immediate action to combat climate change. Shifting temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns, and more severe storm events threaten the health of communities and ecosystems across the country.

“As an agriculture company, we believe that a sustainable future for all is possible, but it requires commitment and action from everyone today. We rely on the health of our planet and the wellbeing of our people. That is why we are devoted to working towards A Better World Tomorrow – to ensure environmental protection and conservation.” Said Moses Machayo; Environment, Health and Safety – Senior Departmental Head, Del Monte Kenya Ltd.

As part of their climate change mitigation efforts, Del Monte Kenya is constantly working with their neighbors and communities to plant more trees annually.

“Over the past three years, we’ve been able to plant more than 20,000 trees at Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, and this year we planted 10,000 indigenous trees in this endangered ecosystem and donated 3,000 tree seedlings to the neighboring community. It is our hope that these efforts will contribute significantly to the country’s goal of increasing its forest cover to 10 percent of the landmass.” Added Machayo.

Del Monte Kenya has also created a new Environmental Action Tool and database to track their company-wide greenhouse gas emissions.

“At DMKL, we are working to align our efforts to Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 32% by the year 2030. This new tool will give us the data we need to set greenhouse gas emissions baselines and develop science-based targets in the future.” Added Machayo.