The True Cost of Dignity

Every month, girls across Cameroon face the same impossible choice: stay home from school when their period comes, or risk embarrassment and infection because they lack access to safe, reliable menstrual products. 

Our mission at PridePads Africa is to prevent this scenario by ensuring that no one is held back because they menstruate. Our critical work provides essential, reliable menstrual supplies to girls and women in rural Cameroon, along with ongoing menstrual health education and community programs that reduce stigma and create meaningful livelihood opportunities.

For years, your generosity has helped ensure that girls in Cameroon have the menstrual products and education they need to stay in school, allowing PridePads Africa to dismantle menstrual stigma, expand opportunities for women and girls, and lift up the next generation of women leaders in Cameroon.

The Numbers Behind Our Mission

Since 2019, we’ve shared a simple, powerful number with you: $24 per year to provide pads for one girl. That figure helped us tell the story of how far your generosity could go. But the world has changed. The costs of materials, shipping, import, and transport of pads to the communities we serve in Cameroon have risen significantly.

After a careful cost analysis and an in-depth discussion with our board and volunteers, we are updating our sponsorship amount to $34 per girl per year. This new figure reflects the full, real cost of getting pads from production to a girl’s hands, including a small buffer to keep our operations sustainable.

In this month’s newsletter, we want to be transparent about why this change is necessary and how it ensures that girls can continue to manage their periods with health, dignity, and confidence—no matter how costs rise around them.

PridePads is Not Changing its Mission
Our mission remains to ensure no one is held back because they menstruate. Updating the cost to reflect current global economic realities allows us to keep our promise to girls and communities without cutting back on quality or consistency.

Your Support Matters More Than You Realize

Because of you, girls in Cameroon are able to stay in school, manage their periods with dignity, and look toward their futures with confidence. Increasing our sponsorship amount to $34 per year simply reflects the true cost of continuing that impact.

If you are able, we invite you to renew your support so that one girl can receive a full year of pads, education, and the confidence to keep showing up for school and for herself. Every gift, at any level, helps us stand with girls and ensures that no one is held back because they menstruate.