Megan White Mukuria bought a one-way ticket in 2001 to come and start businesses for street children. She quickly realized the cost of sanitary pads – to the organizational budget, and to the environment. Her quest to solve that challenge in a sustainable way led to the creation of ZanaAfrica in 2007, before she’d heard the term “social entrepreneur”. Along the way she became a global leader in the issue of menstruation management, launching the first ever National Sanitary Towels Campaign in 2006 as incoming president of her Rotary Club, and later its Coordinating Committee in 2008.
A Harvard graduate, her work has brought accolades from 85 Broads, her alma matter, Greenwich Academy, and most recently the 2009 prize for best business plan at the Wharton Africa Business forum business plan competition. Read more about her background here (link) and follow her blogs below as she shares what she’s learning on the journey of a global, coordinated, replicable national sanitary pads solution.
Recent Posts from Megan
The facts about keeping girls in school
Posted Nov 4, 2010 in Empowerment, Kibera, Sanitary Pads, zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
Some of the benefits of keeping girls in school The facts are undisputed – keeping girls in school benefits everyone in the short- and long-term. Girls with more education have more money in the future, have less incidence of HIV [...]
An unexpected lesson from the beauty of autumn
Posted Nov 4, 2010 in Empowerment, zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
I grew up in Connecticut, home of some of the best trees in the world. Fall is always my favorite time, when like a surprise gift, these leaves that were a uniform green for so long suddenly realize something special [...]
Coming alive
Posted Nov 3, 2010 in Empowerment, zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
My husband and I had the privilege of speaking to Harvard College students in October (2010) at the invitation of Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship. It was a sweet time for me, because HRCF is the organization I served in most while [...]
Africa in Motion at colleges and universities
Posted Nov 3, 2010 in African History, , zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
Having just gotten back from a trip to the States, I have been thinking about the amazing interactions I have had with undergraduate and graduate students alike, concerning their increasing vision to understand the world. At Harvard’s Africa In Motion [...]
Behind the Scenes at ZanaAfrica
Posted Oct 29, 2010 in Field Officers, , zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
July 6, 2009 Monday morning — Visitors came to the ZanaA residence from the United States, filling the house/office with new faces and new voices. Within 20 minutes, the gap between Kenya and America was bridged, as Kajani (a Junior Field [...]
Calling on Female Investors
Posted Oct 29, 2010 in Sanitary Pads, social enterprise, , zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
April 7, 2009 Are you a woman who is passionate about the intersection between business, social justice, and environmental protection? Do you want to see a model of green African manufacturing? Do you want to be part of a cutting-edge [...]
ZanaA’s New Year’s Plan
Posted Oct 29, 2010 in Kibera, Sanitary Pads, zanaafrica by Megan - 0 Comments
January 6, 2009 I am excited at what the immediate future has in store for girls in Kibera and Kawangware, two large informal settlements (aka slums) in Nairobi. Kibera and Kawangware are home to over 2.5 million people – at [...]
My Journey to ZanaAfrica
Posted Oct 29, 2010 in Empowerment, Field Officers by Megan - 0 Comments
September 10, 2008 Dear friends, ZanaAfrica, and our sanitary pads project, comes as a result of many years of working with girls in Kenya , seeing problems, and searching for solutions. And it comes from living in Kenya for more [...]
