“Ladies Choice” – Making Sanitary Pads

One of KUSP’s earliest efforts to encourage girls to stay in school was providing re-usable sanitary pad kits for menstruating girls in Kobulubulu’s schools. This would break the pattern occurring all over the developing world, where girls are missing school one week out of every 4 because they lack feminine hygiene products.

The top 5 reasons girls drop out of school:

• Lack of sanitary pads

• Care of siblings

• Lack of fees and school supplies

• Early marriage and dowry

• Overall lack of encouragement

Supplying sanitary pads to menstruating girls in our Four Schools became a priority for KUSP. We identified a wonderful organization, AfriPads, based in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, that supplies re-usable sanitary pad kits lasting for 12 months for girls and women all over Africa.

We continue to make this annual trip carrying kits to each school. But in 2019, a teacher presented us with hand-sewn pads she had taught the girls in her elementary school class to make.

“If we had the materials, we could teach the girls to make their own pads ” Eunice quietly told us.

We listened. And brought together representative teachers and mothers and students from each of the four schools. They quickly adopted a primary goal: to produce enough feminine hygiene kits to keep all menstruating girls in school during their monthly periods.

The group explored what they needed from KUSP to make their goal a reality:

• Identify an expert tutor to “train the trainers,” women teachers, parent leaders, and “peer educator” girl students to make their own sanitary pads;

• Help develop a coordinated curriculum to help all four schools implement the teaching of sanitary pad making and include basic information of female development;

• Provide sufficient materials to launch the implementation of sewing classes for sanitary pads;

• Adopt a marketing plan to sell pads in the community to raise funds for materials so that sanitary pad making becomes a sustainable program for the Four Schools.

The group named their new project, “Ladies Choice” and their future products, “Smart Choice” pads.

In early 2021, KUSP found a wonderful trainer/teacher who made the trip to remote Kobulubulu to give the “Ladies Choice” leadership group of 24 teachers, mothers, and students a “train the trainers” course. The enthusiastic teachers in two of the elementary schools taught their first classes, and conducted evaluations.

This multi-year initiative has experienced a set-back due to the pandemic, and extended lockdown of Uganda’s schools, but the teachers’ and mothers’ resolve to implement the “Ladies Choice” project is undiminished.

Plans are being made to review what has worked so far once schools re-open in 2022. We all have learned a lot. We have ideas about how to move toward a sustainable cottage industry selling quality pads in the community to raise funds for materials. This would enable Kobulubulu to achieve the goal of supplying all school girls with re-usable pads and information about their own bodies. We will keep you informed in this space.