This project enhances gender equality by building a vocational classroom to support over 600 women in developing sewing skills. This will not only offer increased employment opportunities for these women, but also lead to the production of reusable sanitary pads to be distributed free of charge to girls of school-going age: 49% of whom are believed to miss up to 5 school days a month due to periods.
There are two problems being addressed. The first is that of unemployment amongst widows and single mother parents in the Nyanza-Lac Commune. This is due to gender inequality and the lack of opportunities given to these women. The second issue being addressed is that of adolescent menstruation, a problem which is believed to affect over 49% of adolescent women's education due to taboos which exist in the area. These schoolgirls miss up to 5 school days a month.
The problem will provide education and employment opportunities (both in and outside of the program), it will also help to provide reusable sanitary towels to school-age girls. This will help them to maintain high attendance at school.
Improve opportunities for vulnerable refugee women who are unemployed; providing them with a practical skill to help them generate income. Additionally, more than 20,000 adolescent girls will receive our pads by the end of 2018. This will reduce school drop-out- rates in Burundi. Finally, the vocational campus will establish a social enterprise for the distribution of products made by hand, and provide jobs for 100 women during the first 3 years.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
