History
Rev. Andrea Vassell of TFAM Global With Bishop Tolton, under Our Presiding Prelate, Reverend Dr. Yvette Flunder together with project partners, THE AFIYA CENTER, IRIS HOUSE, and individual US donors in collaboration with MWA Kenya and Cosmopolitan Affirming Church Nairobi launched the KEEPING OUR GIRLS IN SCHOOL project that aims to address some of the issues affecting girls in Kenya by providing menstrual pads, menstrual hygiene products and information on sexual and reproductive health.
Transformer Secondary School
In October 2018 the project was launched at Transformer Secondary School; A private high school in the slum area of Mukuru Kwa Ruben, Nairobi. Mukuru Kwa Ruben slum is located in the outskirts of the Central Business District of Nairobi County where many families struggle for survival as they live on hand-to-mouth. Basic resources like clean water is inadequate and many of the families are forced to buy water in mtungis from venders in there kiosks
Get involved
We think that access to menstrual products is a big deal. That’s why we need your help to make sure girls get the access they deserve, join the fight!
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Andrea Vassell
Leader
Andrea Vassell
BIO
Rev. Andrea Vassell is a native of Jamaica who has lived in New York City for almost 40 years. She is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years of experience in Women’s Health working in communities throughout the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean. Rev. Andrea was called to Christian ministry early in life and has spent many years serving in the Church and exploring Multi-Faith understandings of the God. In 2006, she met then Pastor Joseph Tolton who introduced her to the Gospel of Radical Inclusivity. She was ordained to Christian Ministry in 2014 in The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries where Bishop Yvette Flunder is the Presiding Prelate. In 2017 she completed her theological education and graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary and is currently a 2020 doctoral candidate at New York Theological Seminary.
Rev. Andrea Vassell currently serves as the pastor of Faith United Church of Christ in Union, NJ, a 127-year-old multi-cultural, multi-lingual and welcoming congregation. She also serves as the treasurer of the New Jersey Association of the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Andrea is a mother to her son Zachary who brings her great joy. She comes from a large family that has been foundational to much of her values. Her mother who still lives in Brooklyn taught her to pray and instilled in her a love for service to others. Her co-laborers and large network of friends serve as inspiration and support of much of her work.
Her commitment to justice and the care of humanity has led to her starting Keeping Our Girls in School - a program that serves to provide menstrual hygiene products to girls who experience period poverty. She believes that no girl’s education should be stopped by her period.