Sanitary Pads to Keep 600 Young Girls in School

Sofia from Gulu district had to drop out of school at primary 5 after she missed her final exams because of her periods. “When I started menstruating, I had many hard days. “she says.” I could not get myself any materials to use to stop myself from soiling my clothes, it was better for me to stay at home rather than go through that shame at school and that was the end of my education.”

“I started using cloths that I would cut from my old cloth to keep the blood from staining my dresses, but they were not enough and blood would still stain my clothes,"

I developed fear for the shame every end of the month. At 13-year-old, she dropped out of school, and was forced to get married because she could not stand the boys laughing at me whenever my periods started. Now she has 21 years with 3 children who she takes care of and pay for her daughter’s school fees. “After joining the Lucky Girls Group at Vac-Net office in Gulu, she learnt how to manage my periods with dignity”, she is part of the team that is working to solve this bleeding shame problem which is holding young girl’s dreams in balance.

“I feel I have regained my pride as a young woman”.

We are grateful to move together in this journey of transforming lives meaningfully your, donations makes all this possible we are hopeful your donation will  keep more young girls empowered with diginity.

Accordingly, 70% of mothers in Bolore and Pagirinya refugee settlements think periods are dirty and 66% of girls and women manage periods without toilets. Handling periods in a refugee settlement is hugely complex, influenced by differences in sociocultural norms, with barely no education to young girls on how to experience their periods, what they can do while menstruating, what they can use to absorb menstrual blood and how they dispose the material, whether and from whom they can seek information and help.

When a girl faces obstacles in managing her menses in a healthy way, she is at risk for infection, her self-esteem and self-confidence suffer, she may remain absent from school during her period, or worse still, drop out of school altogether upon reaching puberty. Over time, these negative effects add up, preventing a young girl from achieving her full potential and having a healthy, productive life.

We are responding to this crisis by supplying free Lucky Girls Sanitary Pads to young girls and women in Bolore and Pagirinya refugee settlements. These 2 settlements host 36,000 people of which 72% are young girls, women and children between 9 to 18 years.

    "You saved me of the monthly shame, I missed collecting my food ratios because I feared to go near people during my periods in this camp life its been so hard" The way we need constant food supply we also nees constant supply for             pads.

    Ateny--- Bolore refugee settlement

We are grateful to move together in this journey of transforming lives meaningfully your, donations makes all this possible we are hopeful your donation will  keep more young girls empowered with diginity.