Studio Samuel Launches Yewer Abeba Menstrual Health App to Combat School Absenteeism in Ethiopia

Studio Samuel Girls Academy is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025 while launching Yewer Abeba, a free menstrual health educational app created by girls for girls in Ethiopia. The app's debut coincides with International Day of the Girl on October 11, 2025, whose theme "The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis" directly aligns with the student-led initiative addressing menstrual health barriers to education.

In Ethiopia, menstruation remains one of the leading causes of school absenteeism for adolescent girls, disrupting education and limiting opportunities. Yewer Abeba, which translates to "Monthly Flower" in Amharic, directly confronts this challenge by providing culturally relevant menstrual health information that empowers girls to manage their periods with dignity and confidence. One student currently in Studio Samuel Girls Academy explained, "Periods used to mean I would miss class. With Yewer Abeba, I feel prepared. The girl I am is a student, and the change I lead is showing my sisters and classmates that we belong in school every day."

The app represents a significant advancement in menstrual health education as it was developed with input from adolescent girls, educators, and health professionals, ensuring the content meets the specific needs of Ethiopian youth. Available for free download on https://play.google.com beginning October 11, Yewer Abeba caters to Ethiopia's predominantly Android user base, with approximately 95% of mobile users in the country utilizing Android devices according to StatCounter Global Stats from April 2025.

Yewer Abeba features multilingual accessibility in Amharic, Tigrinya, Afaan Oromo, and English, making it widely accessible across Ethiopia's diverse linguistic landscape. The app includes practical tools such as a period tracker, comprehensive health resources, and a Kalkidan avatar loosely based on Studio Samuel's menstrual health management ambassador. A key feature that addresses privacy concerns is the app's offline functionality—once downloaded, wifi is not needed to access content—and its commitment to not collecting personal data, a feature prioritized at the request of caregivers and parents.

Tamara Horton, Founder and Executive Director of Studio Samuel Girls Academy, emphasized the app's significance, stating, "No girl should have her education disrupted by something as natural as her period. Our menstrual education app—created for girls, by girls and shaped with their families and medical experts—puts knowledge and dignity in their hands." The app builds on Studio Samuel Girls Academy's proven model of pairing education with health and skills training to ensure long-term empowerment for girls.

The technological development of Yewer Abeba was powered by https://makeadifference.tech, created in collaboration with Studio Samuel Girls Academy students and licensed medical experts, with research support from Dr. Kathryn Geurts and Global Health students at Hamline University. This collaborative approach ensures the app combines technical innovation with medical accuracy and cultural relevance.

As Studio Samuel marks ten years of operation in Ethiopia, the organization has impacted 25,000 girls with critical life skills through its Training for Tomorrow program. The organization recently rebranded as Studio Samuel Girls Academy to more clearly reflect its commitment to girls' education and empowerment, with an ambitious goal to reach one million girls by 2035. The launch of Yewer Abeba represents a strategic expansion of the organization's mission, addressing a fundamental barrier to education while empowering girls to become leaders in their own health and education journeys.