SANITARY TOWELS FOR GIRLS IN RURAL SCHOOLS

Menstruation is a subject that is often 'swept under the rug', it is just recently that it is starting to gain attention given the data on the impact it is having on the education of girls. According to UNESCO, 1 in 10 girls misses school during their period, because they do not have access to sanitary pads, and are ashamed to go to school and be ridiculed, often by their male peers.

One of our goals at Joy for children - Uganda is to ensure girls stay and excel in school, so that they can realize their dreams and provide a better future for themselves, and their families. Proper menstrual hygiene management not only allows them to live comfortably, but also makes them more confident and increases their chances of staying in school.

In Uganda and mostly in the rural areas, parents are not able to afford sanitary pads for the girls, Local shops stock sanitary pads that cost on average 5,000 Ugandan shillings ($1.50) a packet – too expensive for most of the predominantly peasant families .

Rural girls have been much affected by the pandemic because they are at home and are not accessing sanitary pads; this is because Periods don’t stop during a pandemic. The impacts of COVID-19 are being seen all over the world. Meeting the critical menstrual hygiene management needs of women and girls is central to an inclusive global response that promotes equality there by realizing SDG 10 of reducing inequalities.

$1.50 can get a girl a packet of reusable sanitary pads for 6 months,$ 15 can support 10 girls with 10 packets of sanitary pads for 6 months, support our cause so that these can attend school with dignity and achieve their goals in life.

As the world graples with the unfortunate crisis of the corona virus pandemic,many girls in the both the slum and rural communities of Uganda are stuck at home with no access to sanitary towels,this is because most of the girls rely on the free sanitary pads distrubuted some of the schools.But this has been cut short beacuse of the temporary lockdown of schools sine March.

According to UNICEF`s report of March 2019 on Guidance on menstrual health and hygiene,it envisions a world where every girl can learn,play and safe guard her own health without experiencing stress,shame ,or unnecessary barriers to information or supplies during menstruation.UNICEF`s support to menstrual health and hygiene is aimed at improving incomes on education,health and gender equality for girls and women.

Think about school going girls who are now locked up in homes, women in quarantine centers, women in relief camps, women  working in markets, who are also in need of vital information related to menstrual hygiene and access to sanitation facilities. In many places, shared toilets make it challenging for menstruating girls and women to manage menstrual hygiene. In reference to the above Joy for children Uganda has organised meetings with local leaders in the western Uganda in kabarole district to ensure the safety of the children espacially girls in this period,working closely with the law enforcement officers. working also closely with the village health teams to ensure distribution of reusable sanitary pads for the vulnerable girls in selevted villages,this we can not acheive it alone without the help of you our donors .

$2 can help a girl access a packet of  reusable sanitary towels for three months,our campaign is still running and we need to support as many girls as possble so that no single girl is left out.