Designers from California and development professionals from Tanzania wore T-shirts reading “Kuwa Mjanja,” Swahili for “be smart,” as they presented a movement that starts with girls at menses and continues with them to marriage. They pointed to their Kuwa Mjanja pads, condoms, and birth control packs, and screened a video of their conversations on the streets with the people at the center of the project design: the girls themselves.
“A conversation outlives a product. It outlives an intervention. It outlives all of us,” said Rena Greifinger, who focuses on youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, in her Kuwa Mjanja shirt.
This “design immersion,” hosted by Population Services International in Dar es Salaam, focused on the question: “How might we inspire medical professionals to be more willing, even excited, to provide contraceptive services to unmarried girls?”
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
