Ensure girl-children stay at school to complete education, access sanitary pads and information unconditionally and attain skills on proper menstrual sanitation and hygiene management.

The project is necessary because it is designed to mitigate the specific problems faced by girls at school, at-risk, married and formerly married girls in Soroti District. The current plight of these girls is characterized by a high rate of girl-child school drop-out, early marriages/union, stigma caused by limited or lack of access and use of sanitary pads during menstrual periods that lead to high rate of absenteeism from classes in schools. YWFT has noted that, girls in the rural areas lack self-defence and assertiveness which puts them to a high level of vulnerability and risky situations such as unplanned pregnancies, abortions, fistula cases during child birth including mortality. The SNV, UNESCO and UNICEF reports highlight that, much as the above listed causes contribute to the plight of girls. Girl-child school drop-out is also accelerated by distant schools, unemployment, lack of knowledge and information on life skills and reproductive health, and the unfriendly school environment.

The UNESCO report further estimates that, one out of ten girls in Uganda miss school during menstrual cycles. By estimates, goes to the excess of 20 % of a given school year calendar that results to poor academic performance. It is also a fact that, many girls in Soroti drop-out of school once they begin menstruating because they get stigma.

After dropping-out from school, coupled with unemployment and abject poverty, some of the girls opt to engage in commercial sex for income. This phenomenon is evidently seen in Soroti town, lake Kyoga shores: (Kagwara, Bugondo, Namasale, Pingire etc.) and many other places including mushrooming commercial centres. Other girls serve as housemaids, sell pancakes, firewood and fetching water for survival.

This project is critically important because it is aimed to change attitude towards child marriage/union which is regarded as a normal phenomenon because it “fetches some wealth” to the family and “reduces family burden”. The project will enable school girls to access and use sanitary pads during menstrual periods, girls will stay at school to complete education and build their self-defence and assertiveness. This project will also enable the young at-risk, school drop-outs and formerly married girls generate income from sales of pads to open market and job creation. Overall, the project is self-sustainable.

Project Results

The project entails the procurement and distribution of 250 re-useable sanitary pads/kits and 500 under wears to the most vulnerable identified girls from extremely poor families from the following schools: (Dakabela, Angai, Arabaka, Tukum and Akaikai primary schools in Arapai Sub-county of Soroti District in Uganda) within the period of 4 months. After the launch of the project, the baseline survey will be conducted to establish and provide pre-project implementation baseline data regarding the project. The baseline report and supporting data shall be produced and will form the benchmark against which the capacity building and training activities are determined to ensure that they are appropriate, coherent and targeted. It shall also form the basis for monitoring, measuring progress, determine constraints and achievements of the action as it develops.

This project will enable the selected vulnerable girls to access and utilize sanitary pads during emergency menstrual periods in the targeted schools. Besides, distributing re-useable sanitary pads and under wears, the project will train 600 school girls, girls at-risk and school drop-outs in menstrual sanitation and hygiene management (MSHM) skills and reproductive health. And will also train school girls from selected schools, girls at-risk and out of school girls how to make reusable sanitary pads and thereafter procure start-up raw materials for kick-starting the production of sanitary pads locally. We believe, by building the capacity of these girls and training will be a durable and sustainable solution that will provide sanitary pads and income generation for beneficiaries. In addition, the project will also ensure that the selected schools will be supported to establish girl’s health clubs and movements to provide peer-to-peer counselling and reproductive health information.

Furthermore, the project also intends to reduce the prevalence of high risks caused by girl-child school drop-outs such as teenage marriages, abortions, fistula and unwanted pregnancies. We intend to achieved this through training of 50 senior women teachers, religious and clan leaders, LCs, selected parents, parish chiefs and VHTs to equip participants with knowledge, get them to know their roles and skills to actively participate to prevent, identify incidences of child marriages and teenage pregnancies, and how to respond to child marriages and teenage pregnancies and post abortion incidences when they occur. In addition to training, the project will also conduct 3 community awareness raising radios talk-shows on topics related to girl-child school drop-out, teenage marriage and unwanted pregnancies. We shall also conduct 5 public campaigns on menstrual sanitation and hygiene, domestic violence and effects of child marriages in places of worship, schools and markets. During the public campaigns, 1000 printed sexual and reproductive health IEC materials (brochures and leaflets) 500 copies in English and 500 copies in Ateso will be distributed in schools, girl’s health clubs, places of worship and markets to create awareness in the community that are aimed to change community attitude, mind-set, and norms and cultural believes towards menstruation and girl children.