Storytelling played a powerful role in the sessions. Grace, an ecologist and women's rights educator with AEYA, shared her experience of growing up and lacking resources to purchase menstrual products. At first, she felt ashamed, having been in an urban setting and not been able to afford a daily necessity, yet she watched other girls have options of tampons and even scented pads that she'd never laid eyes upon. The kindness of a friend to share with her this basic need through out primary school became a catalyst for her commitment to ending period poverty. Today, Grace works with Naipereri Primary School in Laikipia, providing menstrual products and mentorship to girls who might otherwise miss school due to lack of access. As a team lead of Sustain Her Cycle, her logo is "empowered women empower women." 

Nyasaina Kwamboka, economist, environmental researcher, and founder of AEYA, shared her own journey with menstrual health after experiencing burns from the chemicals and plastic in disposable pads. Her college friends encouraged her to switch to a menstrual cup over five years ago and she has never looked back. Through humor and honesty, she connected deeply with participants while explaining the environmental impacts of pads and tampons and how they repsectively take 800 and 500 years each to decompose. When improperly disposed, they make the ground infertile. She explained that in urban settings, disposable plastics often clog drainage systems. These blockages lead to flooding and bioaccumulation, as plastic waste breaks down and enters waterways, where it is ingested by animals. Over time, these chemicals move up the food chain and eventually end up in our bodies, causing long-term harm to human health. Her dedication to menstrual cups as a low-carbon solution is one that amplifies her dedication. 

Halima Alinoor, environmental scientist, advisor, and team lead at AEYA, reflected on growing up in Marsabit, a hot and remote region where disposable menstrual products often caused discomfort and made travel difficult. Coming from a pastoralist community where menstruation is often considered taboo, Halima emphasized the importance of breaking the silence across generations. Beyond working with over 500 young women in Turkana, in July 2025, she facilitated a collaboration between AEYA and three community colleges in Marsabit, mentoring young women and supporting the distribution of 120 menstrual cups. Coming from a pastolist community where there are a lot of myths and misconceptions around Sexual Reproductive Health and rights. Mothers and their daughters have been conditioned to view menstruation as a taboo topic. She wants to change this narrative and believes that steady and intentional progress will make the change we need to see in our communities. 

Yvonne, our mentor from the Mina Foundation, connected effortlessly with the women in the room. Her honesty about her heavy menstrual flow, due to her motherhood journey. Her life-changing moment came when she came in contact with the Mina Cup, and she finally experienced a comfortable menstrual cycle when she discovered the menstrual cup. Since it's chemical-free, it has helped regulate her cycle overtime from 7 days to around 4 days now, unlike when she used pads and tampons. She delivered a detailed and practical training session on how tampons and menstrual pads can be harmful to the body and how they can cause irritation. She also explained how menstrual towels and tampons distributed to the Global South are usually of a lower grade than the manufacturers claim and some companies that manufacture disposable pads have been sued for causing severe harm to women by giving them boils, burns, rashes, and infections.

She later followed up with a detailed training on the Mina menstrual cup, including how to insert it, fold it, and try different positions, as well as how to disinfect and store it, all while normalizing the conversation around menstruation. For many participants, this was their first time hearing about menstrual cups and their curiosity, laughter, and questions filled the room. 

The Sustain Her Cycle training included:

1. A practical comparison between pads, tampons, and menstrual cups

2. A transparent and authentic conversation about women's rights, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) , Mental health and cultural taboos, myths and misconceptions, the value of sisterhood, and personal stories.

3. Distribution of menstrual cups and informational pamphlets.

4. Small group discussions demonstrating various fold techniques, insertion positions, and care.