Coast bikers donate pads to over 400 students at forgotten Malindi School

More than 400 pupils from a remote school in Malindi, Kilifi County, have benefitted from sanitary towels and other assorted items from Coast Bikers to enable them to remain in school. 

Initiated by the Kilifi Easy Riders Club and supported by the larger Coast riders, Equator Kenya Limited, among others, bought sanitary towels, which will last the girls for six months. 

They also helped this year's national exam candidates with geometry sets and other facilities to enable them to have no difficulties in sitting for the examinations. 

Bikers rode from Mombasa, Kilifi, and Malindi in style to a school adjacent to the Arabuko Sokoke forest to help not only the pupils but also the community members with food. 

Bakari Rajab, chairman of the Kilifi Easy Riders Club, said families in the rural area cannot afford to buy sanitary pads for their teenage girls, forcing them to be out of school. 

Speaking after handing over the donation at Girimacha Comprehensive School, he said that each candidate will get a geometry set, pen, pencil sharpener, and rubber, including the entire school. 

Rajab said that the girls will have sanitary towels, which will last them for six months and will enable them not to miss school during their menstruation days. 

Rajab thanked Equator Kenya for providing them with transport for the goods and Kitui flour mills and Bomani bookshop for providing them with stationery. 

“The truth is this school is forgotten due to its location, but we have assured them of our support to transform the infrastructure of the institution,” he said. 

Charles Mapinga, a member of Kilifi Easy Riders, said that as a club, they got a request from the school seeking support, as the children were vulnerable and lacked basic needs.

“Today’s purpose is giving back to the community, and we are going to Girimacha School, and we have sanitary towels for the girls and stationery for all the students,” he said. 

Mwanaharusi Robert, the chairperson of Girimacha Comprehensive School, thanked the bikers for doing charity at the school, saying it would go a long way in keeping the children at school. 

She said that the girls normally miss school during menstruation because they cannot afford sanitary towels, adding that the donation will reduce absenteeism.

“We thank them for the pads, as children will be in school. We are also happy for the donation of milk and books, as parents cannot afford to buy this equipment,” she said. 

Irene Kioko, a teacher at the school, said that the sanitary towels will help reduce cases of GBV, as the majority of them cannot afford to buy them. 

“This is a marginalised area, and most teenage girls cannot afford to buy them, so we thanked Kilifi Easy Riders for their support, as it will go a long way in helping the pupils access their studies easily,” he said.