Sanitary Pads Keep Ugandan Girls in School

Since 2015, a key initiative has been teaching Club members how to make reusable menstrual pads (RUMPs), an essential skill, as many adolescent girls struggle to access reliable menstrual hygiene products, which can hinder their ability to stay in school. This training is provided to both boys and girls, alongside education on puberty and reproductive health, ensuring that all students are equipped with the knowledge they need for a healthier future.

To date, we have directly trained 5,440 students through our RUMPs program, which has proven both popular and effective in reducing menstruation-related absenteeism. In 2025, our RUMPs training directly reached approximately 640 individuals. Additionally, 79% of the girls trained to make RUMPs passed on this valuable skill to family members and friends, further expanding the impact of the program. In a 2024 survey of 416 girls, 92% reported rarely or never missing school due to menstruation, thanks to the availability and use of RUMPs.

In rural Uganda, only about 50% of girls complete primary school, with even fewer enrolling in secondary education compared to boys (40% vs. 60%). This gap widens significantly as fewer girls continue their education into lower secondary, and the disparity becomes even more pronounced at higher levels. A key barrier hindering girls' education is the challenge of managing menstrual hygiene. Most girls begin menstruating around age 13, typically during the second-to-last year of primary school. However, many lack access to the necessary supplies for menstrual management, and school facilities often fail to provide private spaces for changing, washing, or disposing of menstrual materials. 

Consequently, absenteeism among girls increases with the onset of menstruation, leading many to drop out of school permanently. Girls who drop out of school are at a higher risk of early marriage and pregnancy. In Uganda, more than a third of girls marry before the age of 18, and nearly 30% give birth before adulthood. These early life experiences often result in poor health outcomes, larger families, and limited opportunities for higher-paying, productive jobs in adulthood.

Our RUMPs program has successfully addressed this barrier in the 16 schools we support, and the proposed improved version of our training will strengthen this program in ways that will benefit the lives of users. Our RUMPs program is ongoing, as new girls begin menstruating each year and need this support. It is also part of our broader strategy to improve girls' health and secure their education. In addition to menstrual hygiene management, our comprehensive approach includes building 'girl-friendly' latrines with privacy walls and washing facilities, educating girls and boys about puberty and sexual health through our health clubs, providing bicycles for girls who travel long distances to school to reduce the risk of sexual harassment, creating private spaces at school where girls can meet with teachers to discuss any challenges, and organizing child school protection committees to further safeguard child wellbeing.