Empowering Women & Girls Through Menstrual Health Education

The new school year is in full swing in Cameroon, and with that comes the return of PridePads Africa’s menstrual health education in schools!

So far in 2025, the PridePads Africa team has visited 12 schools and seven women’s groups, reaching more than 5,300 students and women in Ngaoundéré. Students continually share that the major barrier to remaining in school during their period is lack of supplies. Given that poverty is concentrated in the north of Cameroon, including the Adamawa region in which PridePads Africa’s headquarters are located, financial hardship is often the reason why students do not have adequate supplies. 

Essential needs such as food, water, and shelter take priority for financially strained households, with period products coming in almost dead last, especially as men hold the purse strings in most families and don’t consider these products a necessity. To help alleviate this burden, PridePads Africa conducts regular visits to local schools and provides students pads free of charge. 

Our recent pad distribution was such a success that we quickly ran through our raw materials by the end of April! We're excited to share that a new shipment has arrived from India, and our team is energized and ready to get back to production. 

To expand our impact, we ordered 50,000 prefabricated pads. These are being carefully packaged at our Ngaoundéré facility and distributed together with our own PridePads produced pads, ensuring broader access to essential menstrual products. So far, we have received positive feedback about the prefabricated pads with many girls noting that the thicker pads help them feel more confident. 

While students were on summer break, our team focused on engaging local women’s groups. Many of these community groups consist of local mothers, most of whom have not received menstrual health education themselves. In addition to providing a menstrual health education presentation, these seminars provide a space for women to ask questions and receive medically accurate answers regarding their menstrual cycle which they are encouraged to share with their whole families, not just fellow women and girls.

As you may have heard, we are hosting our fifth annual Une Nuit Pour Les Filles: A Benefit for PridePads Africa on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Rembrandt Yard in Boulder! All funds raised will benefit PridePads Africa and will allow us to continue our mission of promoting menstrual health and hygiene education and providing biodegradable menstrual pads to girls and women in Cameroon. 

This event will also launch our 2025 end-of-year campaign, Period Power: Supporting Girls’ Education with Sustainable Menstruation. We would love to have you join us! Click HERE to reserve your spot today.

Please join the PridePads Africa team as we continue to empower girls with knowledge about their bodies.

With Heartfelt Gratitude,

PridePads Africa Board of Directors