The project aims at empowering the girl child to ably manage menstrual related challenges with dignity and be able to complete school. Orutambu Uganda implements this project in a three pillar- approach: Providing accurate sexual health and hygiene information to break taboos, equipping girls with skills to make reusable sanitary towels and constructing basic gender-sensitive facilities in schools such as latrines, washrooms, and water systems so as transform schools into enabling environments.
In Uganda, menstruation is a barrier to equality rather than a biological norm. Shrouded in taboo and high costs, menstrual poverty forces 30% of girls from low-income families to miss school, while nearly a quarter drop out entirely after their first period. A toxic mix of stigma, lack of sanitary products, and poor school hygiene turns a natural cycle into a lifelong educational disadvantage. We must bridge this gap to keep Ugandan girls in the classroom and in control of their futures.
Orutambu Uganda will dismantle menstrual barriers in Kabarole by training 1,000+ girls in sustainable sanitary towel making and providing essential reproductive health education. To ensure dignity and health, we will construct a gender-sensitive latrine with dedicated washrooms and a water harvesting system at one school. These integrated solutions minimize the hygiene and cost barriers that drive school dropouts, empowering girls to manage their cycles with confidence and stay in school.
This investment will transform menstruation from a source of shame into a symbol of vitality. By eliminating hygiene barriers, we will drastically reduce school dropouts and absenteeism, fostering an equitable environment where girls perform better academically. In the long term, girls will gain the reproductive confidence and affordable resources needed to stay in school, ensuring that their education and their future shall no longer be dictated by their biological cycle.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
