Improving Menstrual Hygiene Management in developing communities

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a major and ongoing issue for girls and young women living below the poverty line, not unlike our vulnerable Katuuso and Mbazzi communities.

The hygienic and safe management of a girl’s menstrual cycle not only impacts health and well being, but also has the potential to have a significant impact on academic achievement as well as the achievement of School for Life's educational objectives, with student absenteeism a major risk factor.

Such a need could not go unnoticed and so, at the end of 2021, School for Life developed a pilot project to help address this issue within our developing communities.

Students at a local government school receiving their MHM kits for the first time!

As part of our Girls’ Fund Initiative which launched in October 2020, and thanks to our major funder the Phillips Foundation, we were able to launch our MHM program which saw the production of 2,500 menstrual hygiene kits distributed to women and women and girls across School for Life's three school campuses, seven local public schools and within five surrounding communities.

In order to complete all 2,500 kits, a mentoring program was set up between School for Life’s KUMI tailoring women and the students from our Primary 7 class, enabling our students to further the skills they had learnt earlier in the year through our skills training partner, SAWA World as well as provide additional income for our tailoring ladies.

With each kit containing 4 x re-usable sanitary pads, made in-house from fleece and flannel with a waterproof lining, 2 x pairs of underwear, 1 x soap bar, 1 x washcloth, 1 x leakproof ziplock bag and 1 x drawstring bag, all made in-house, these kits are expected to last three years meaning families experience less of a financial burden plus the reusable pads means less going to landfill. A win for the families and a win for the environment!

"I am a single mother of three children, operating a chips stall at Katuuso village. I don’t make enough money to look after my children so buying disposable pads has always been a challenge to me that at times I end up using old clothes which sometimes don’t hold the blood well and I end up staining my clothes but I am so happy that I have been given free re–usable pads which will save me money and also save me from using old clothes."

Quote from local community member

As well as the kits themselves, our Community & Welfare team led sensitisation sessions prior to and during the MHM kit distribution at the start of this year, to help better educate the women and young girls in our communities on the changes and challenges faced during menstruation and how to manage them.

These sessions were a great way to bust myths and misconceptions about menstruation that have kept girls home from school - myths such as:

  • Not being able to be involved in certain activities and chores while menstruating for example, playing sport and cooking.

  • Strictly eating a certain type of food whilst menstruating.

  • And not being allowed to interact with any male persons.

These myths and misconceptions about menstruation contribute to many girls typically missing school for at least 3 – 4 days every month. This means a girl could be absent from school for 36-48 days per year! Such high numbers of missed school days have a profound negative impact to the girls’ educational performance and outcomes.

The sensitisation sessions proved a critical component of the project to not only reduce the stigma and bust myths around MHM but to improve community attitudes.

"The sensitisation is timely as we were struggling to approach learners on the subject matter... We now have a lot of confidence that the learners have been empowered with the right information and the materials to take them through the menstrual season every month and thus no girl child will miss class over periods."

- Quote from a teacher at Buloba Primary School

In July this year, we were able to conduct an impact survey with 250 recipients of the menstrual hygiene kits. We are happy to report 98% of respondents said they continue to attend school while on their period and 96% of respondents reported a difference during school after receiving the kits.

With 100% of School for Life's female students of menstrual age now having access to MHM kits and an overwhelming positive response from the community, we are hoping to run this project again.

If you would like to find out how you can support our Girls’ Fund initiatives such as our MHM program, visit our She Could Be site via the link here.

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.