More than 80% of Burundian women and girls cannot afford to buy menstrual pads every month: the cheapest pads available on the market cost approximately 1 US$ (2,000 BIF). That’s a lot of money to spend every month for many families in Burundi. Furthermore, more than 89% of Burundian girls and women cannot afford to buy underwear: no pads and no underwear. As a consequence, they miss out on education, work and other opportunities in life, because they cannot manage their menstruation with normalcy and dignity. Girls stay at home instead of going to school when they have their periods, and miss an average of five days of school each month. Without resources like textbooks to catch up on lessons, they find themselves further and further behind in classes, fail tests, get discouraged and far too often, drop out of school. The consequences of dropping out are devastating: early marriages and pregnancies, as well as limited career opportunities. This continues the cycle of poverty for the girls and their families.

"Agateka" means "dignity" in Kirundi. We chose this name for our washable and reusable sanitary pads because we want all girls and women to manage their menstruations normally and with dignity. We sell our pads for 5 US$ or 10,000 BIF per kit - each kit includes 5 pads and has a lifetime of up to 5 years. All the proceeds from our sales are directed towards our "Agateka kw'ishure" (Dignity at school) program through which we provide free Agateka kits to school girls and disadvantaged women all over Burundi. In addition to this, all the girls and women who receive our free kits are automatically included into our in-house Sexual and Reproductive Health education program.

The production of the Agateka pads is an income generating activity for 40 women mentored under the Iterambere initiative.

Whereas we have our own production, marketing and distribution strategies, we love partnering with other individuals and organizations who can reach further than we have. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you would love to partner with us!