CA Nonprofit Marks 1,000,000 Milestone for Girls’ Sanitary Pads
1 millionth pad
Sweetwaters Primary Girls
Save a Girl™ kit
Save a Girl™ Campaign Helps Girls in the Developing World Stay in School
LIVERMORE, CA, UNITED STATES, February 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Global Uplift Project (TGUP) just passed the 1,000,000 unit milestone for sanitary pads given to girls in the developing world. The California nonprofit’s Save a Girl™ (SaG) project helps adolescent girls manage their period so they can stay in school.
The 1,000,000th pad was given to a girl at the Sweetwaters Primary School near Nyeri, Kenya. TGUP produces the Save a Girl™ pads in Kenya and at sewing centers it operates in five other developing world countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Nepal, and India.
According to UNICEF, between 20,000,000 and 50,000,000 girls drop out of school every year because they cannot manage their period. Brenda Birrell, inventor of Save a Girl™ and Director at The Global Uplift Project, says this is entirely preventable.
“Girls in the Western world don’t stop going to school at 12 or 13 years old because they start menstruating,” she said. “There’s no reason girls in the developing world should do so, either.”
Says Birrell, “This is the greatest loss of human potential in the world. The tragedy is that it is entirely preventable.” She points to World Bank data that shows that better educated girls are one of the most valuable resources a society can produce.
“Better educated girls delay sex longer, have fewer partners, are more likely to use birth control, marry later, marry higher earning spouses, have fewer children, make sure those children are better educated, have more vocational options, and contribute more to their communities,” she said.
“If there is just one thing we can do to improve the human condition,” says Birrell, “it is to keep adolescent girls in school. That’s what Save a Girl™ does.”
Save a Girl™ kits costs $8 to make and are given to the girls free of charge. When properly taken care of, a SaG kit lasts three to five years, usually long enough for the girl to finish school.
TGUP has conducted long-term research in Kenya on the outcomes of giving girls Save a Girl™ kits. The data show that for girls using SaG kits:
• Days of school missed fell by 93%
• Grade Point Averages rose by 16.5%
• National test scores rose by 20.7%
• Graduation rates increased from 85% to 96%
A Save a Girl™ kit consists of two water proof shields and eight absorbent, reusable pads. The pads are made of flannel fabric so are soft against the body. Inside the shield is a layer of waterproof fabric. The whole kit comes in a discreet carrying bag and is typically given with soap, and panties.
A Save a Girl™ kit is delivered to the girls by matrons in developing countries who teach the girls the essentials of the biology of human reproduction. This is often the only time in their life that the girls receive education about menstruation and its relationship to reproduction.
The Global Uplift Project is a California-based nonprofit which provides educational infrastructure to developing world villages: classrooms; libraries; science labs; kitchens; latrines; playgrounds; and more.
It has completed more than 630 of these projects in 26 developing world nations. Over their duration, those projects will help more than 4.3 million of the world’s poorest people—mainly children—have a better chance in life.
Robert Freeman
The Global Uplift Project
+1 650-575-3434
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