Sowing pads

No Desks? No problem! Girls sewing washable pads.

Way back at the start of my blogging I promised to talk to you about menstruation. That piqued the interest of some at the time but it really is high time I came good on my promise. So.....

What is an old white man (with no medical heritage) doing concerning himself with such things? Good question, long story; that I hesitate to bore you with but here goes!

The background is that in Uganda 'universal education' was introduced back in 1997, giving all children equal assess to free Primary Education. Good stuff. But not simple. First build accessible local schools; everywhere. And train many many more teachers. And then find that girls are not actually equal to boys in the culture and in biology, especially from puberty. The simple and 'normal' way to deal with a girl's period is for her to stay at home. That means missing about 4 days of school every 28 days. Unless they are bright and determined it is no wonder they fall behind in the class rankings, get hassle from teachers and diminishing enthusiasm from parents who have to find money for them (only tuition is free) and they drop out of school. Often to be married, for which the parents get a bride price. One study in Uganda reckoned that 20% of school girl drop outs are due to menstruation related causes.

Our washable pads. Hand sown L and experimental machine sown R.

Now obviously, disposable pads are the answer; they are cheap and available. Except they are not cheap to a girl who has no money. Nor to a family which only sometimes has money and to whom this is a new and 'unnecessary' expense. Mother has never used them! And they are not available in rural areas because there is no demand.

What to do? Well, before I came to Uganda, Emmanuel International staff initiated a program where schools were visited, materials were given and washable pads were sown by the girls. The program was on hold, waiting for a fresh start. A bit of research, some 'chance' encounters and some hard work came up with an improved washable pad design, a bit of money, a concept note, budget and permission from the District Education Officer to start visiting schools.  That was around May this year.  I teamed up with one of our National Staff, Milly, and off we went. We have now visited 10 schools, taught just over 700 girls, marked and cut nearly 4,000 pieces of cloth (for 1390 pads). Each girl gets 2 pads to sew themselves and 2 pairs of knickers. (Pads are no use without them).

Milly is a natural teacher.

What we found was that in a typical class of 60 girls (we select the most mature in the school), around 40 have already started their periods, around 9 are wearing knickers and maybe 1 or 2 have access to disposable pads. Those on their periods manage them by missing school.

Milly teaches in the local language about the biology and practicalities of menstruation and how to sew and use the pads. Then I talk (translated by Milly) about the women that are important in my life who have achieved a good education. Then I talk from Psalm 139v13 & 14 about how we are each wonderfully made by God, unique individuals, known and valued by Him. i.e. God thinks you are important too.

Would it be better if a woman gave this talk? Maybe, but women affirming women has its limitations. A man affirming women can be unexpected and more likely to be noted? Or maybe an old white guy can do what a Ugandan man could not or would not do?

Feedback from teachers following the visits has been strongly positive.

There are problems to solve and questions to ask:

2 pads and 2 knickers is really not enough. It should be 4. But 4 pads is too many for a girl to sew in an afternoon and anyway the quality of the finished items is 'variable'. And it is twice as expensive for purchasing and takes twice as long for marking and cutting.

Milly translates as I talk.

In the larger schools our cap of 60 is simply too low and we have to return a second time to teach 20 or 30 more. It would be better to do one school with one visit.

School terms of around 12 weeks are surprisingly short when you take into account 1^st and last weeks, football, athletics and music competitions, termly tests and final examinations, all of which are bad times to try and muster all the older girls.

There are over 100 Primary Schools in Pader District. Agago District is in easy reach of us in Pader Town and there may be another 100 there. Even if we limit ourselves to a reasonable travelling radius from Pader there would be about 50 schools. This year we managed to reach 10 in two terms. Should we upscale the project?