How reusable pads are changing the future for women + girls in Uganda
Supporter Update | March 2020
At WaterSchool, we are all about relieving poverty by advancing the health and wellbeing of families and communities. Whether that’s by eliminating the threat of waterborne illnesses or by removing barriers to education for the most vulnerable, we know that when families are healthy and young people stay in school, communities flourish and economies thrive.
With the generosity of a few dedicated donors, we have been putting a lot of time and effort towards helping young women stay in school.
The link between the health of the community and school attendance is clear - a lack of access to clean water and hygiene tools at home and at school disproportionately affects a girl’s education in Uganda. Girls often dropout of school after Grade 6 because there aren’t private latrines where they can relieve themselves safely or manage their menstrual cycle. And, when girls drop out of school early, they are often married too young. Early marriage puts their entire future at risk as a cascade of events typically follows including higher rates of complication during childbirth, domestic violence and poverty.
Girls in the communities we work with miss 24% of their school days because they don’t feel safe coming to school while they have their period.
By constructing a private room or outbuilding at school that is stocked with pads, clean underwear, a spare school uniform and basic painkillers, girls and women can relieve themselves safely and manage their menstrual cycle appropriately. We also provide training for young women in how to easily make reusable pads.
Empowerment training, role-model setting and self-worth development are integral to this program and the results show - the enrolment rate of girls immediately increases as girls who have dropped out of school return feeling valued, secure and encouraged.
In 2019, WaterSchool trained and equipped 712 girls to make and use reusable pads in 11 schools. With the designated support of major donors in our community, we’ve been able to build, furnish and equip six menstrual rooms for the safety and protection of girls. Dropout rates for girls at these schools is now 1% compared to 23% prior to intervention.
Thank you for believing in the potential of young women!
Making re-useable menstrual pads makes periods easier to manage and helps keeps girls in school.
A group of girls after participating in a workshop to learn how to make re-useable menstrual pads at school.
A group of high school students show all of the materials that are included in the Girls’ Rooms that we are building at local schools. By providing young women with a clean, safe, private place to manage their periods, we know that they will stay in school.
Read more from our March 2020 Supporter Update:
Meet Adikin and Mary: They’re at the top of their class and are deeply committed to their school work. But, every month they would get sidelined from school and setback in their studies by the same thing: their periods. They shared more with us about their experience as teenage girls trying to finish school and the unique barriers they face.
Our new partnership with Coca-Cola Uganda: Regularly when we tell people about SODIS (Solar Disinfection) they always ask, “but what about the plastic bottles?” It’s a common concern — and a valid one! Are we simply adding more waste into the system? Read more here.