500 youths engaged on menstrual hygiene
May 30, 2023 – Every 28th of May is Menstrual Hygiene Day worldwide. It is the day for raising awareness about menstrual hygiene globally. It’s also a day for speaking up against any form of discrimination and humiliation that girls and women face when they go into their periods.
So, in May 2023, Organic partnered with Kamuge Olinga Catholic parish in Pallisa district, eastern Uganda, to carry out menstrual hygiene activities. The activities of Organic Impact began on 20th May, preceding Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Organic Impact co-founder Rosemary Abbo and menstrual hygiene programme leader Peace Aanyu gave a menstrual health talk to more than 500 youths who had gathered at Kamuge Olinga for a week-long youth conference. The conference was organized by the Church to engage youths on spiritual matters as well as life skills. The organisers invited Organic Impact to lead discussions on menstrual hygiene. The participants included students, teenage mothers, other out-of-school youth and young married couples.
The Organic Impact team explained to the youngsters how menstruation comes about. They encouraged boys to empathise with and not ridicule girls over menstruation since it is a normal biological process. They also cautioned girls against early sexual engagement and early marriage since it leads to health and social problems.
The Organic Impact team also gave hands-on training to 51 youths, including 12 males, on how to make a reusable sanitary pad and maintain its hygiene. They used cotton cloth, threads, a polytene sheet, needles and scissors. All these materials are affordable and easily available countrywide, even in small trading centres.
One of the participants said, “with this training on making reusable pads, I am going to teach my wife to make them so that she can relieve me from the burden of buying disposable pads.”
The youth Chaplain, Fr. Aloysius Opio Opio, commended Organic Impact for the training. He said going forward, the Parish would engage youths in making reusable sanitary pads to help them manage menstrual hygiene and also make money.
Menstruation can often be a barrier to schooling, sports and work. Countrywide, many girls absent themselves or even drop out of school due to lack of sanitary pads. By teaching girls to make reusable sanitary pads out of affordable and available raw materials, Organic Impact is helping them to stay in school and achieve their educational dreams.