Dar es Salaam, Sept. 27 -- THE first time she saw the blood four months ago, she ran to her mother in fear, but her mother assured her that for her gender, it was a normal thing, and she called it 'monthly period'.

She told her that because she had reached puberty, she should expect to see the flow of blood every month, and went ahead and introduced her to the world of sanitary towels. And just like clockwork, the flow came every month afterwards, and because she already knew what to do, she never went back to her mother for advice.

But this month, the 15-year-old Sarah Mwanga felt that something was not right, because the blood did not flow as expected, and the month was almost over.

When another month came and nothing happened, she c...