Sanitary Pads Keep Ugandan Girls in School

In April, 2013, I had the opportunity to visit the Kasiisi Girls Project. It was wonderful to be back in Uganda. I was so impressed by all the progress since my last stay in Uganda 1.5 years ago. The Kasiisi Girls Project is doing great -- the girls are thriving and excelling in academics and sports! I had the opportunity to observe the school nurse (hired by the Kasiisi Girls Project) working with 70+ girls - she was distributing sanitary pads to the girls, speaking to them about 'risks' they might face while on spring break (men in the village who may want sexual relations with them, sanitation concerns etc) and bonding with the girls. I observed the girls ask the nurse some really great questions and they all seemed very comfortable with the nurse and the topics - which was a big change to my observations in 2011! I also had the chance to watch the Girls compete in sporting events like cross country running, track, high jump, soccer and more. The girls performed very well and all the teachers and students seemed very excited by the girl’s soccer team! I also visited with a group of 14+ female secondary scholars supported by the Kasiisi Girls Project. The girls were just finishing exams but were very excited to tell me about dorm life, academics, sports, band, computer classes and more. I loved visiting with the secondary school girls and seeing how much they enjoy boarding school and learning! It was hard to leave the Kasiisi Girls Project and come back to the USA – but I definitely left feeling very excited about all the successful and worthwhile work the Kasiisi Project is doing. Thank you all for your support and encouragement! We could not do it without you! 

A special thanks to professional photographer Ronan Donovan (http://www.ronandonovan.com/gallery/the_kasiisi_project) who took some amazing photos of the Kasiisi Project! Thank you for volunteering your time Ronan!

Links:

• Kasiisi Project Photos