Reflecting Back and Looking Ahead: A 2020 Review

2020 was a year filled with challenges, hard decisions, and uncertainty. But as we start 2021, we are reflecting on this past year with an abundance of gratitude and humility.

Like most people, companies, and organizations, we rang in 2020 with stars in our eyes… feeling hopeful and ready for the new decade to begin. We set impact goals and fundraising targets and prepared ourselves for what we just knew would be Huru’s biggest year yet.

And you know what? It kind of was. And we’re excited to tell you about it.

March 2020

First, we should start at the beginning. As you likely know, Huru has offices in both New York City and in Nairobi, Kenya. When the spread of Covid-19 became undeniably prevalent in the US, Huru’s NYC team went fully remote and remains working from home today. That change was implemented on March 16, 2020.

And in Nairobi, we immediately implemented even more stringent hygiene and safety measures. Our production team worked in shifts in order to be appropriately distanced, handwashing stations were erected outside of the building for staff to wash hands before entering (in addition to the indoor restrooms we have), face masks were required at all times without exception, and the entire building was sanitized every hour. But as companies in Kenya began to close their doors, our teams in New York and Nairobi started growing more and more cautious of the situation.

The first case of Covid-19 in Kenya was reported on March 12, 2020. At that point, it had become clear that PPE and face coverings were in limited supply around the world. In Kenya, various neighbors and partners approach Huru asking for help producing masks. On March 19, our Country Director, Wanjiru Kepha, wrote to our New York office with a clear request: “We need to make face masks.”

And we never closed our doors.

The decision to pivot

Testing and retesting and then even more testing took place between March and April to make sure Huru’s face masks were as high-quality and comfortable as possible. Once we settled on the final design, and with substantial support from Huru’s longtime partner, Micato Safaris, we made the plan to shift some of our production lines to make masks while still continuing to produce menstrual pads. And on April 3, we shared our update with our donors and partners with a humble request during incredibly challenging times for everyone: “can you help us make face masks?” And the result? Huru’s donors gave more that month than they have any other April in our organization’s history.

Not only were there monetary donations, but the Huru community fundraised, shared our social posts, and emailed their friends about our programs like we have never seen before. But perhaps the part that will always stick with us is the outpouring of love shown to us by supporters. We received note after note and email after email of encouragement and uplifting messages. And they were beautifully timed as our team was working around the clock to make sure people who needed masks received them asap.

Distribution strategy

The fact of the matter is that even amidst a global pandemic, girls have periods and they need pads. And in actuality, the pandemic presented women and girls with more challenges than ever when it came to their periods. For starters, parents and guardians lost their jobs and were forced to prioritize food, water, and rent over pads. Plus, disruptions in supply chains and bulk-purchasing limited access to menstrual products. Puberty education that was ordinarily taught in school was unavailable. And although some girls in parts of Kenya have limited access to disposable pads while in school, schools closed indefinitely. Which left them without options.

With the help from partners and donors, particularly Huru’s monthly donors, we continued giving girls pads. But the strategy was different. Instead of group gatherings, Huru used our brand new menstrual and adolescent health app, Free2, (which launched in early 2020) to reach girls with our health curriculum. And our team began taking kits to girls… one by one. Yes, our incredible Nairobi-based Programs team has been going door-to-door to each girl’s home.

Partnership developments

So, friends, we’ve been busy.

The year began with Huru launching our menstrual health and hygiene app, Free2, as part of an ongoing project with AmplifyChange. And throughout the year, our Nairobi team worked with the app developers to continuously improve the content and interactive experience for the girls using it . Also at the beginning of the year, in partnership with Grand Challenges Canada, Huru trained 500 health ambassadors to share Huru’s products and education with girls and women in their own communities. And later, those health ambassadors became crucial to the fast distribution of face masks.

Around the start of the pandemic, Huru received a grant from our longtime partners, L., to give girls Huru Kits. The support was timely given the growing need and the increasing threat of the pandemic. By July, just two months later, all 4,597 girls had each gone through the 28 lessons on Free2 and had received their Huru Kits. Then L. did something even more amazing. Within weeks, they provided Huru with another grant, doubling the number of Huru Kits to give to girls in Kenya.

By fall, Huru was working with Mpesa Foundation to assist them in giving 30,000 girls menstrual products and access to Free2. And mid-December, we launched a project with UNICEF to provide 200,000 community members with access to Free2 and to give 5,000 girls Huru Kits.

As of right now, all of the above projects remain ongoing.

A big thank you to our supporters

This is something we absolutely cannot overlook.

At every turn of 2020, our community showed up for girls in Kenya. Despite being amidst a global pandemic, individual Huru donors gave more in 2020 than they ever have before. And without the support of our partners, donors, fundraisers, etc., we’re not really sure what would have happened last year.

It’s because of this support that something really amazing happened over the course of 2020.

11,286 girls received Huru pads,

50,000+ girls, boys, teachers, and parents took lessons on Free2,

90,000 face masks were produced and distributed,

our staff remained employed…

and we never once closed our doors.

Grateful, thankful, inspired, hopeful, determined

These are just a few of the things we are feeling right now.

We truly cannot say it enough, but we sure can try: thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting girls with Huru. We are so looking forward to what 2021 will bring and the incredible impact that we know we will make together. May your 2021 be a year full of healing, adventure, and perhaps most of all, hugging your loved ones.

With our immense gratitude always,

Your friends at Huru