The moment that makes it all worth it

In May, I traveled to Kenya to meet up with our Field Team to talk to young girls about how they receive information.  Who are their trusted sources? Do they ever have access to the internet? Do they watch television or listen to the radio? How do they talk to each other if they’re not in school?  In short, we wanted to know the best to way to get our puberty content to them.

We met with four groups of girls—two groups of 8-14 year olds, and two groups of 15-18 year olds—and asked them a series of questions. We gathered a lot of great information, with one simple conclusion: With few exceptions, 10-14 year old girls (our target age group) don’t have access to digital information.  If we want to reach them, we need to focus on distributing the hard copy versions of our books (at least for the moment!).

Our talks with the girls were really insightful—and have influenced how we are thinking about distribution—but my favorite part of each conversation came at the very end.  After the girls had answered all our questions, we thanked them by giving each one a copy of our new Kenya girls’ puberty book. When we asked them if they would like to keep a copy of the book, their delight was palpable and they immediately broke out into excited chatter. But, as soon as the books were in their hands, they were silent, completely engrossed in their reading. That moment is what makes the months of work our Field Teams put into the developing the book all worth it.

This was my first time witnessing this moment in person, but it is a familiar sight for Grow and Know. Time and time again, we have seen how much girls (and boys!) love these puberty books.  Not only do they provide useful information and guidance, but girls can see themselves reflected in the illustrations and the stories shared. 

Since May, our Field Team has been busy on the ground, distributing 15,000 pilot copies of the book to girls throughout Kenya.  But, we’re not stopping there.  Over the next few months, we’ll be working with our partners (old and new!) to ensure that as many girls as possible have a book.  Stay tuned!