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Girls using soil-made pads get help after Monitor story
She wraps a piece of cloth around the packed polythene bag. Photos | GODFREY MASIKO
What you need to know:
- In February, this publication reported that girls in Buyala Village, Budondo sub-county, Jinja City, were molding sanitary pads using soil as part of their menstrual hygiene routine
Vulnerable girls in Busoga sub-region, who had resorted to using soil-made sanitary pads, have continued to receive help, five months after the Monitor published their plight.
In February, this publication reported that girls in Buyala Village, Budondo sub-county, Jinja City, were molding sanitary pads using soil as part of their menstrual hygiene routine.
Maimuna*, a Senior Two student, said she resorted to using soil-laced rugs because her mother couldn’t afford standard sanitary pads, but was most comfortable when she just didn’t go to school.
All Maimuna did was to pile soil in a polythene bag, fold it and pierce four holes to absorb the blood; thereafter, she inserted a small towel and wore it with two or three knickers because one (pair of knickers) couldn’t hold it.
Ms Donita Turiho from Dwona Initiative teaches pupils of Buyala Primary School in Jinja City how to handle menstruation and make reusable pads. PHOTO | PHILIP WAFULA
Shanita, a Primary Six pupil, said when she experienced her periods for the first time last December, she looked for an old mattress and cut out a portion of it to absorb the blood.
Since then, individuals and organisations have descended on Buyala Village to offer help, with Stanbic Bank and the Dwona Initiative being the latest.
Stanbic Bank’s Head of Corporate Social Investment, Ms Diana Ondoga, said they are committed to enable more young girls and women to learn a valuable skill that will change their lives forever.
“We believe in the potential and our youth, that’s why we are doing everything possible to help them be healthy and become better people in future,” Ms Ondoga said on Friday.
Ms Donita Turiho from Dwona Initiative said they have taught the pupils how to handle menstruation and make reusable pads so that even though they have their periods they can continue staying in school.
“We have also handed out about 117 packs of reusable sanitary pads, each with about three pairs of pads, to take the girls over the course of three years if they use them correctly.
“So, three years of these girls staying in school every single month because they have pads. We were touched by the (Daily Monitor) story, like many others were of the girls that were affected and had to use sand during her period,” Ms Turiho said.
Stanbic Bank's Catherine Asayo gives hands-on training on making reusable sanitary pads to some pupils of Buyala Primary School in Jinja City to receive. PHOTO | COURTESY
She added: “We have seen the statistics, and it is very disheartening to see how many girls stay at home just because of their periods. The goal of Dwona is to see that by 2040, we have one million girls having uninterrupted education.”
Ms Turiho said they have involved the boys in their training to make reusable sanitary pads because they believe girls cannot stay in school if boys are left unaware of their situations.
Nakibogo* said whenever her periods “got her by surprise”, her mother always told her to get “any soft cloth” because it is what they used to use.
“The first time I experienced my periods was when I was returning from fetching water at the well. I felt a ‘bizarre pain’ in my abdomen and my peers advised me to go to the toilet for a long call, but what followed was blood.
“I immediately used that very water I was carrying to bathe, but I was shaking throughout and was torn between going to school and staying home,” said Nakibogo.
Adding: “I became scared but remembered what my mother told me. I then got a cloth, placed it in my knickers and waited for my mother to return from a burial she had gone to attend.”
