#EndMenstrualAbsenteeism for 1000 Girls in Zambia

In January 2022, the Basizana project took a step to expand the project to 1000 girls beginning with the addition of three new schools bring them to a total of four schools with beneficiaries in the village of Mkushi, located in the Central Province of Zambia.

The goal of the project is conduct research to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by girls in this area, followed by an implementation plan to address said challenges. Hence the majority of the work covered in the first quarter of 2022 mainly included monitoring and evaluation of the four schools Nambo Basic School, Nshinso Basic School, Chalata Basic School and Kandawo Basic School. 

A summary of the findings from the monitoring and evaluation concluded that the following challenges were experienced by girls across all the schools. 

• Less than 15% of the girls can afford menstrual supplies 
• 85% of the girls miss 4 days of school a month on average due to their period
• Most girls use cloths with low absorbancy to manage their periods, leading to stains thus makign it difficult to attend school. 
• All the schools visited used pit latrines, with no running water close enough to clean or disinfectant them. 

In addition to this, a follow up study was conducted at Nambo Basic school to assess the reception and use of Menstrual cups that were distributed in Q4 of 2021. The findings showed that over 80% of receipients did not use the menstrual cups given to them. The following reasons were given by respondents in the follow up survey. 

• Discomfort with insertion 
• Concerns about effect this would have on purity of the girls
•  Tradition and Taboos

Hence, in response to the feedback given the project moved to distribute reusable pads that are equally sustainable and durable. The benefits of the pads are that they are less invasive and are closer to the cloths used prior with better absorbance and are more durable avoiding risks of stains and infections. 

A total of 108 reusable pads were distributed to girls at Nambo basic school along with the delivery of menstrual hygiene training to ensure the girls were educated on appriopriate menstrual hygiene practice. The reception toward the reusable pads was comparatively more positive resulting in over 70% of the girls prefering them over the menstrual cups previously given.

In conclusion this project aims to raise $15,000 to provide resuable pads to 1000 girls across the central and western province of Zambia. The $15000 dollars will go towards funding research and development for the project in addition to the purchase and distribution of reusable menstrual supplies, with menstrual hygiene training. 

A full and detailed report of the research conducted in the first quarter of 2022 can be found here. 

Links:

• Quarterly Research Reports 2022