Smart Girls

 

Keeping young girls in school

 

Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and

empowerment of women and adolescent girls. When girls and women have

access to safe and affordable sanitary materials to manage their

menstruation, they decrease their risk of infections.

 

The lack of means for hygienic management of menstruation can cause

discomfort and psychological stress and adds to the shame and sometimes

depression that women and girls experience because of menstruation-related

taboos and stigma.

 

Promoting menstrual health and hygiene is an important means for

safeguarding women’s dignity, privacy, bodily integrity, and, consequently,

their self-efficacy

 

Therefore, Smart Girls project has a vital role to create awareness and

sensitization for young girls on proper menstrual health and Hygiene and also

offer re-washable and reusable sanitary pads to vulnerable young girls in

rural communities.

 

Our Reusable sanitary Pads Project

 

About 65% of women and girls in Uganda especially in rural areas cannot afford

sanitary pads.

 

A school going girl therefore remains at home during her period waiting for it to end.

Evidence shows that the period around puberty is one in which many girls drop out of

school or are absent from school for significant periods of time. Limited access to safe,

affordable, convenient and appropriate methods for dealing with menstruation has far

reaching implications for the rights, physical, social and mental well-being of many

adolescent girls in Uganda and other developing countries as well

​

The proposed project seeks to address the perpetual challenge of menstruation

management through training school girls in making and using reusable sanitary pads

named smart Girl Pads. A big number of girls in Uganda do not have access to any form

of sanitary protection, obstructing good education, economic and social activities. This

does not only affect an individual’s life and career prospects; it affects the entire

community they live in. There is also very little formal support, education or

understanding about puberty and sexual health. Fear, superstition, and embarrassment

about body changes lead to low self-esteem.

 

Sex can be used as payment for towels and even planned pregnancy in under-aged

Girls are used to avoid monthly menstruation. Therefore, girls are more prone to dropping

out of school, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

 

Projects that increase school attendance, retention and achievement can play an

important role in women’s empowerment, social and economic achievement. The project considers Better tomorrow community Centre as organized points for training. 

 

Donate and help us keep our young Girls in school.