Change 3,000 vulnerable Girl-Children for success

REPORTING PERIOD:                   25th September 2016
NAME OF ORGANIZATION:           Agirigiroi Community Based Association (ACBA)
DISTRICT:                                     Soroti -Uganda
PROJECT TITLE:                           Change 3,000 vulnerable Girl-Children for success
CONTACT PERSON:                      Edyegu Stephen
TEL. NO. (Mobile):                        +256772666142
E-mail ADDRESS:                        sedyegu@yahoo.co.uk

PROJECT SUMMARY

The first report of (ACBA) one-year project with the objectives to: provide assistance that improves girl's menstrual hygiene and sanitation management during menstruation. Reduce the rate of girl-child school drop-out, absenteeism, juvenile marriages, unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortion, HIV infection and girl’s exploitation. Awareness-raising on menstrual hygiene management.

ACBA focuses in providing assistance to poor girls to complete education and have a better future through construction of drain-able girl’s toilet with wash-room, hand-washing facility, providing reusable sanitary pads, soap and awareness-raising on menstrual hygiene and maternal health, and mitigation of WASH related diseases.

The project will make and disseminate (IEC) materials on best practices of sanitation and hygiene purposed to eliminate open-field defecation and train girls to make pads themselves.

IMPLEMENTED ACTIVITIES

• Initial consultations with district authorities, school management committee (SMC), parent’s teachers’ association (PTA) and project stakeholders on project modalities.
• Identification of the construction firm for construction of the toilet.
• Procure, distribute sanitary pads and soap to school girls within the age of menstrual periods.
• Designing, printing and distribution of (WASH) IEC materials.

ACHIEVEMENTS

I thank and commend you donors for humble contributions that have brought project implementation to this level. To-date, three consultative meetings have been conducted with authorities, SMC, PTA, parents and engineer has resulted to identification of the site for the latrine, parents has assembled locally available materials: (sand and stones) in-kind contribution to the project. Sourcing of the construction firm is underway expected to conclude soon. ACBA in partnership with-Friends of Environment International Integrated Development Organization (FEI-IDO) was able to sensitize the community on reusable sanitary pads finally designing of IEC materials is progressing.

CHALLENGES

Despite achievements attained, my concern is the slow pace of project implementation in fast deteriorating situation. Open field-defecation is still in practice which poses a threat of cholera outbreak. School drop-out rate is escalating for instance in Pallisa 9,138 pupils registered for PLE but 123 have dropped-out. Three years ago 15,780 dropped out of school while three defilement cases are reported to police daily. Full funding of the project will quicken implementation to rescue girls falling victims such these two girls that got pregnant before completing primary seven in the attached document.