Dignity Delivered: One Youth One Mentor Comes to Nairobi

NAIROBI, KENYA — Eight days after the historic One Youth One Mentor launch in Enugu, Nigeria, the movement crossed the equator. On March 14, 2026, Embakasi Girls High School in Nairobi's Mukuru kwa Njenga settlement became the campaign's second African home — and the scene of something quietly extraordinary.

No girl should miss school because she cannot afford a sanitary pad. No girl should sit out a week of learning every month because the world has decided her biology is too inconvenient to address. On March 14th, If I Were XYZ, Inc. — in partnership with Phone Place Kenya and Romano Media — decided differently.

The Numbers That Define the Day

More Than Pads — A Statement of Worth

The sign outside Embakasi Girls High School says it plainly: "Stop Menstruation Stigma." It is a message the school has carried for years. On March 14th, If I Were XYZ, Inc. showed up to back that message with action.

Menstrual hygiene remains one of the most quietly devastating barriers to girls' education across sub-Saharan Africa. Limited access to sanitary products drives absenteeism, erodes confidence, and contributes to school dropout at precisely the ages when girls' trajectories are most shapeable. The pad drive at Embakasi was not charity. It was a precision intervention — removing the barrier that stands between a girl and her classroom, between her potential and her future.

Each of the 705 girls received sanitary pads covering two full school terms, along with personal hygiene kits. The calculation is deliberate: two terms of support means two terms of uninterrupted attendance, two terms of undivided focus, two terms in which a girl's biology is no longer an obstacle to her ambition.

Leadership That Shows Up — Again

The man in the If I Were XYZ t-shirt, surrounded by laughing, energised students, is the same man who stood at a registration desk in Enugu, Nigeria on March 6th. Engr. Cornelius Ani, Executive Director of If I Were XYZ, Inc., did not send a representative to Nairobi. He came himself.

At the event, Engr. Ani addressed students on the global perspectives driving the One Youth One Mentor campaign — on how access to menstrual hygiene and essential resources does not just help individual girls, but transforms entire communities. His message was one the students in Mukuru kwa Njenga have rarely heard directed at them from a global platform: you matter, your education matters, and people on the other side of the world are invested in your success.

Voices From the Programme

The March 14th event drew a remarkable gathering of speakers, partners, and public figures, each contributing a distinct thread to the day's tapestry:

The event also drew prominent Kenyan celebrities and public figures including Dem Wa Facebook, Karangu Wa Muraya, Priscillah Wa Imani, The Mziza's Family, and Mr. Pad — whose presence amplified the day's message to audiences far beyond the school gates through their combined social media reach and community influence.

Scholarships: Investing in Individual Futures

Beyond the pad distribution, March 14th delivered something even more transformative for a handful of students: the security of knowing their education will continue.

These are not symbolic gestures. A tuition scholarship in a community like Mukuru kwa Njenga is the difference between a girl staying in school and being forced out of it. A full scholarship is a life redirected. The three pairs of shoes scheduled for May represent the organisation's commitment to following through — promises made are promises kept, even when the cameras have gone.

A Club Is Born: The If I Were XYZ Chapter at Embakasi

Perhaps the most structurally significant outcome of March 14th received the least fanfare — but it may carry the longest impact. The If I Were XYZ Club has been officially established at Embakasi Girls High School.

Beginning in May 2026, the club will operate as a formal student organisation. Membership registration opens to all interested students, and club official elections are scheduled for the second week of May. This is not a one-day programme leaving behind good memories and empty hands. It is an institution — student-led, school-rooted — that will carry the mission of mentorship, dignity, and empowerment forward long after any single event.

📣 Students of Embakasi Girls High School: If I Were XYZ Club registrations open in May 2026. Elections for club officials will be held in the second week of May. This is your club. This is your movement. Join it.

Behind the Scenes: The Man Behind the Mission

The smiling selfies with students tell one part of the story. The quieter image — Engr. Ani at the planning table with partners, the visible focus of someone who has flown across an ocean and is still working — tells the other. This is what sustained, serious leadership looks like. Not just presence at the podium, but presence in the preparation.

The Ripple Continues: What Comes Next

March 14th was not a conclusion. It was a commitment. The partnership between If I Were XYZ, Inc. and the Embakasi Girls High School community is structured for continuity:

A Call That Cannot Wait

The Embakasi launch demonstrated something important: that the demand for this work in Kenya is as urgent as it is in Nigeria. 705 girls were reached in a single day. Hundreds more in Nairobi alone are waiting. Across Kenya — and across East Africa — the need is immense.

🚨 The Need Is Growing: One event, one school, 705 girls — and we have only scratched the surface. Scaling this initiative across Kenya requires partners, sponsors, and mentors who are ready to act now. Every contribution directly funds sanitary support, scholarships, and mentorship connections for girls who have already proven they will show up when someone shows up for them.