Sabrina

Meet Nelson Otieno: Femme’s Community Outreach Officer

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Femme is extremely lucky to have a man like Nelson Otieno on our team in Kenya. Born and raised in the Mathare slum, Nelson has unique insights into the community, and is a wealth of knowledge about the specific challenges faced by residents. Beyond that, Nelson demonstrates a passion for changing his community that continually inspires us. 

Unfortunately, in most all parts of the world, openly discussing women’s oppression, especially in regards to their feminine health and hygiene, is difficult for men. In Kenya particularly, these are subjects that are still widely considered taboo. What sets Nelson apart is his strong belief that to invest in women is to create social change. Nelson believes strongly in Femme’s educational programming; he understands the importance of keeping young women in school, and providing them with the means necessary to respectively care for their bodies.

Nelson is a shining light, a true community leader. His passion for change within his community defines him; he works with a number of local organizations to affect change among the youth of Mathare and has been nicknamed Nelson Mandela by local residents. In our opinion, he is definitely worthy of the namesake. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself! What is your occupation?
My name is Nelson Otieno. I was born and raised in Mathare Valley slum of Nairobi, Kenya. I am an entrepreneur and a community changer.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I play boxing which acts as an inspiration to me; as I am boxing the bag it is my way of taking away my frustration and the challenges that I face.

What is it like to grow up in Mathare?
Life is not favorable in Mathare, there are a lot of both positive and negative challenges. I take being brought up in Mathare as a school. When you are mining for gold, you have to go through the troubles for to gain the glory.

When did you decide to focus on community development?
I can’t exactly remember because I had this push when I was still in primary school, and my mother was hustling so hard to see me through, provide for me an education, and give me that push to change my society.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Mathare residents today?
Lack of proper infrastructure and planning, ignorance and lack of proper education.

As a man, why do you think it is so important to focus on women in Mathare?
Focus on main issues but more so to build on the positive aspects of life, rather than dwelling on the negative sides. When you empower a girl, you build up the entire community. She will help her family, and not spend money on alcohol like the men.

What do you think about Femme’s programs?
They are doing a remarkable job because the issues Femme is tackling has been neglected and in my community of Mathare, young people cannot share the issue of reproductive health with their peers. Hence, Femme has been acting like a bridge between the young and the old, and the community at large. 

Sabrina Rubli & Ella Marinic

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Sabrina

Introducing Crankytown!

Crankyfest is an online film festival about menstruation and an off-shoot of Crankytown. Check out our first winning film, serendipitously titled First, by Laura Maxwell.

We launched Crankyfest with iThentic in 2013 as a way to to dispel stigma around menstruation, and encourage girls and women to direct films.

We’re honored to have received so much recognition in such a short time. We earned a Gemini nomination for Crankytown in 2011, and this past year were featured on media outlets such as CBS’s The Doctors, CBC’s Q, Cosmopolitan, Jezebel, and The Daily Beast (to name a few). We’ve also gotten the thumbs up from industry leaders like Denis Villeneuve, Emma Thompson, Feist, Jay Baruchel, and Rachelle LeFevre. But in spite of all this, we are often reminded that menstruation can still be a touchy topic, and that there is much work to do before all women and girls feel proud of their bodies.

Here are three recent challenges:

1. After being invited onto a popular morning show to discuss Crankytown, we were warned 30 seconds before going to air not to say the word “period,” because people were “eating their breakfast.

“(Lets not even get into the nutritional value of menstrual blood)!”

2. Crankyfest is collaborating with TAWC (Toronto Actra Women’s Committee) on their 24 Hour Co-op Challenge. Their theme is menstruation, and all films will be eligible for Crankyfest. However, our contact was recently asked by Actra Toronto to change the theme because of a complaint that the topic was exclusionary. Our liaison would not change it. She said that “seeing that more than half the population have their periods and that every single human being who is walking this earth comes from somebody who had their period, their problem with the topic is prejudicial.” She also mentioned that if the anonymous complainant wanted to debate the issue, they could contact Denis Villeneuve and Jay Baruchel who have agreed to be on the jury, though they themselves have never menstruated.

3. We were mysteriously denied entry to the Without A Box network. After multiple unanswered emails and phone calls, no explanation has been given. We can only assume it is due to our content. (WAB feel free to respond).

PicturePhoto by Kourosh Keshiri: Vanessa Matsui, Jenna Wright, Liane Balaban

But here are three recent successes. (These are the things that keep us going in the face of setbacks!)

  1. Crankyfest’s launch party for wave two of the festival was voted one of the best thirteen parties of 2013 by She Does the City, along with Patti Smith at the AGO and Rag and Bone at Holt Renfrew!
  2. Meeting so many incredible women who are working towards improving the lives of girls and women everywhere. To name a few: Femme International, Huru International, Your Box Club, and the creators of Question Period.
  3. Our stellar jury: Denis Villeneuve, Anna Silk, Kevin Pollak, Jay Baruchel and Amanda Brugel.

Now here are THREE THINGS you can do to make 2014 more period-positive.

  1. Make and submit a short to Crankyfest. The deadline is March 3, 2014.
  2. If you are in Toronto on Tuesday, January 28th, hit up Question Period at the Drake, a menstruation themed trivia night raising funds for Mother Nature Partnership!
  3. Donate to Femme International, Huru International, or any charity that supports the advancement of women.  

Vanessa Matsui, Jenna Wright, Liane Balaban

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Sabrina

2013 – Our Year in Review

Happy 1st birthday Femme! It’s hard to believe Femme was born just one year ago; she’s grown up so fast! When we first founded the organization, we weren’t sure what to expect in terms of growth and success and support. The last twelve months have been an amazing adventure filled with wonderful new beginnings and experiences. It has all far surpassed our expectations. Here are just a few highlights from Femme’s first year! 

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FHM Pilot Project
In April and May, Femme took its first strides in Kenya with a pilot project in the Mathare slum. Partnerships with several schools in the community were established and a needs assessment was conducted with 85 school-aged girls. The Feminine Health Management program was completed with 21 young women and our first batch of Femme Kits were distributed! 

Pictured: Co-founder Sabrina, during a focus group with students from a partner school.

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Femme International Benefit Concert
On August 17th, Femme proudly hosted its first concert fundraiser at The Handlebar in Kensington Market – it was a great success, with enough funds raised to provide over 60 Femme Kits to our girls. Many thanks to all those involved for donating their time and their talents! Acts included folk/root/blues band The Breaks as well as vocal powerhouse Ada Dahli, guitar/drum duo Crow Town and ambient folk band Weatherstone. 

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CrankyFest Launch Party
On September 13th, Board of Directors President Elenor Ball-Banting and Femme co-founders Ella Marinic and Sabrina Rubli attended the launch of CrankyFest, hosted by SheDoesTheCity. CrankyFest is an annual film festival dedicated to the topic of menstruation. Founded by Canadian actresses Liane Balaban, Vanessa Matsui, and costume designer Jenna Wright, CrankyFest has established itself as the first and only TIFF event dedicated to menstrual education.

Pictured: Ella Marinic, Vanessa Matsui, Sabrina Rubli & Elenor Ball-Banting at CrankyFest.

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The Red Panty Diaries 
On October 3rd, Femme hosted The Red Panty Diaries, a feminist stand-up show featuring Toronto’s sassiest comedians. Hosted at Baltic Avenue, the theme of the show was, of course, menstruation! We could not have predicted the enormous success it would be. The show featured comedic performances by Heidi Brander,
 Zabrina Chevannes, 
Jess Beaulieu,
 Alannah Copetti, 
Natalie Norman 
and was hosted by Sarah Bruckschwaiger. Everyone is still raving about how talented these women are. 

We are very proud to announce that The Red Panty Diaries will be returning on March 12th at Lula Lounge – so mark your calendars, you will not want to miss it!

A special thanks to Mishelle Menzies for the amazing artwork featured on our flyer!

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International Day of the Girl Child
In honour of International Day of the Girl Child on October 11th, Femme partnered with YourBoxClub and CrankyFest to generate support for our shared cause. CrankyFest released an animated video starring Jay Baruchel which aimed to de-stigmatize conversations about menstruation. The video was released on October 11th and a Femme Kit was donated for every 500 views that week. 

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FHM Project
In November and December, Femme’s staff was in Mathare implementing the FHM program with over 130 young women. The project was a huge success, with a number of teachers asking that we return in the spring to work with the next cohort of students. Femme hopes to not only return, but to expand its reach in the community by partnering with additional schools and foundations. 

Pictured: A participant reads her workbook during an FHM workshop.

All in all, it was a very eventful year – with the most important event being our achievement of charitable status! As a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, Femme International is sure to expand its reach and reputation in 2014. A big thank you to all those who made it the best first year we could have ever hoped for!

Ella Marinic

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Sabrina

All About Femme Kits

Femme’s Feminine Hygiene Management program has two components – EDUCATION and DISTRIBUTION. Participants are first led through a series of interactive workshops which discuss topics such as female anatomy, reproductive health, essential hygiene, menstrual health, and menstrual management. The second component is the distribution of Femme Kits to all girls who have completed the educational workshops.

Femme Kits are designed to contain everything a girl needs to manage her period in a safe, healthy and effective way. They include a small towel, a bar of soap in a protective container, a reusable menstrual cup, a tin bowl in which to clean the menstrual cup, and a small calendar for her to track her cycle, all inside a small canvas bag. Combined, all of these items make a girl’s period easy to manage, and ensure she always has everything she needs to stay safe and healthy.

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The key component to our Femme Kits is the menstrual cup. Menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone, and are a much healthier form of menstrual management than other commercial sanitary products. It is inserted about half an inch into the vagina to collect, rather than absorb menstrual fluid. When inserted properly, menstrual cups provide comfortable, leak-free protection for up to twelve hours. The best part about these cups is that they can be re-used for up to ten years.

Menstrual cups are an ideal solution to menstrual management in communities like Mathare, where adequate latrine facilities are few and far between, and accessing potable water is a daily challenge. Menstrual cups require very little water – they can be removed, emptied and re-inserted without washing, if need be, since the silicone is anti-bacterial and anti-microbial. At the end of the period, they must simply be boiled in water for about 5 minutes before being put away until next month. When inserted properly, a vacuum seal is created around the top of the cup which prevents any leaking. It also provides twelve hours of comfortable protection, allowing girls to attend school and participate in daily activities without worrying about her period. The girls are most impressed by the range of activities they can enjoy while menstruating – running, playing football, swimming, dancing. 
Femme Kits give participants a new level of independence. The menstrual cup removes the financial burden of menstruation, and allows her to spend her money on other essentials or activities. Having her own tin bowl to clean the cup allows her to do so without asking to borrow her families cooking pot. It is the unique combination of health education and the distribution of the Femme Kits that make our Feminine Health Management program so effective, and sustainable.

We believes that by providing participants with Femme Kits, we are enabling them to take control over their bodies and take advantage of all academic and professional opportunities they may come across. Femme Kits enable girls to stay safe, healthy, and in school – every day of the month.

We invite you to be a part of this change. Donate a Femme Kit! Each contribution will make a lasting impact on a girl’s well-being.

Sabrina Rubli

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