Kenyan Philanthropist Jackline Saleiyan Honoured by US based organisation

A Kenyan philanthropist engaged in supporting young vulnerable girls including availing sanitary pads for them has been recognised internationally.

Jackline Saleiyan, who is the founder of A Pack A Month, has been acknowledged by The Priceless Project, a US based community organisation.

The Priceless Project is a program developed to teach girls about self-worth.

The recognition is as a result of Seleiyan’s work of bridging the re-entry of teenage mothers back to school gap under the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) training sponsored by USAID, where she emerged best.

In Kajiado North 88% of adolescent mothers don’t get a chance to go back to school due to baby care constraints and expenses.

***Jackline Saleiyan, who is the founder of A Pack A Month, has been acknowledged by The Priceless Project, a US based community organisation.***

“While the government has given the leeway for such girls to access education through the re-entry policy, there lacks a proper guideline of who should cater for the resultant baby,” Saleiyan said during an interview.

Through her proposed solution of having a free daycare, Saleiyan has embarked on a journey of setting up one in Enchoro-emuny sub-location, Kajiado County, where the adolescent mothers can drop their babies, head to school and pick them in the evening.

She is currently calling on well-wishers to help in realization of the envisaged day care.

A Pack a Month is a community-based organisation that mentors and avails pads monthly to Girls and Young Women in Kajiado county with an aim of eradicating transactional sex.

As at December 2023, the organisation had distributed 34,200 pads in bid to end all forms of voluntary or “cultural” transaction sex for pads with 400 adolescent girls and young women being reached each month in the last 5 years.

“When girls lack pads, it is not just as simple as people may assume. It has many interlinked repercussions from teenage pregnancy, GBV and STIs. The more reason why I still call for period poverty to be declared a national disaster because it is the leading cause of the Triple Threat,” Saleiyan said.

Recently, Seleiyan won the most creative dresser award for always promoting traditional wear to her outfit.