A Conversation at the Railway Station
When our friend Neema, a social worker from Maternity Africa, invited us to join her for a teaching session with teenage girls in Arusha, I wasn’t sure what to expect. She directed me to the railway station in the centre of town - an unexpected but fitting place for a health session.
Inside the railway’s ticket office, tucked away behind the waiting area, was a small group of teenage girls, some with their young children, all with notebooks and pens in hand, eager to learn.
Neema began the session on menstrual hygiene, explaining how often pads should be changed, the importance of carrying water in case public bathrooms have none, and how to correctly dispose of single-use pads or wash and dry reusable ones properly. She also guided them on how to track their menstrual cycles, so they could anticipate when their next period would arrive and be ready with supplies.
This was the perfect moment to introduce the Mwandamo USSD app, designed to help girls and women track their cycles and access health education even without internet. Each girl registered successfully with Neema’s help.
Their curiosity didn’t stop there. The girls began asking questions about fertility, how conception timing might influence having a boy or a girl, and what family planning methods are available.
We’ve now been to this same group twice in two weeks, and each time the questions continue to flow—proof of their eagerness to learn and their growing confidence to speak openly about their health. During our second visit, we distributed 15 packs of reusable menstrual pads and introduced Saalt’s menstrual cups. A few of the girls will be testing the cups and sharing their feedback on comfort and ease of use in the coming weeks.
These young women, gathered by their social worker Madame Suma, are training to become seamstresses or to work in salons, building futures for themselves while navigating the challenges of adolescence and motherhood.
It doesn’t matter about the space or the setting. What matters is girls coming together to learn, share, and educate themselves about their own health. Whether it is a classroom, a church hall, or a small railway ticket office, what’s important is that these conversations are happening. And on those days, the railway station was the perfect place.
Sitting in that small waiting room, talking about periods and reproductive health, I was reminded how simple conversations can spark change. These girls leave that room and go back into the busy streets of Arusha more informed, more confident, and hopefully more open to speaking about menstruation without shame.
It’s in moments like this that Mwandamo’s mission feels most alive: to listen, to learn, and to help, woman to woman, girl to girl.
