Help rural poor girls stay in school

Education is an important tool for empowering individuals and more so girls. Cultural and traditional values still play a prominent role in hindering the access of several girls to education. Boys are given higher preference when it comes to education. Studies have shown that an educated woman is able to get gainful employment,take her children for immunization,practice family planning, spends over 40% of her income on her family's welfare as compared to the male counterpart who spendsfar less on his family.There is high school dropouts and absenteeism among girls in primary schools and the major factor contributing to this is menstrual health challange where girls use rags usually torn from old t-shirts,leaves,backcloth, soil etc that are ineffective and unhygienic instead of sanitary napkins because the associated price is not affordable by these poor girls. The costs are more than $1 which is above the monthly income of many households.Therefore it becomes difficult for an individual household to appropriate for sanitary pads over other needs considered to be essential. Also in Uganda very little attention has been paid to critical infrastructures like separate latrines,waste facilities,wash and change rooms that are critical for the retention of girls in school especially those that have reached puberty. Due to lack of sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene related friendly facilities, girls are always absent due to their menses and absenteeism leads to poor academic performance which eventually leads to the drop rate of a sizable number of girls from schools. The lack of health facilities prevents girls from attending school when they are menstruating. Young girls need to change their pads 3 to 4 times daily during the first 3 days on menstruation but in schools where they spend most of their times, these spaces are not provided. The girls are always given the option of latrines that are smelly, too small, not lockable and withno door.

Menstrual hygiene management remains a daunting challange in the life of many adolescents and women alike. In Uganda just like in many african countries, menstruation is a very private matter that is rarelydiscussed in public and the muteness about the issue of menstruation coupled with the disadvantaged socio economic position of girls and women in uganda perpetuates further inaccessibility to the much needed sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene friendly facilities

We need funds in cash or kind to buy materials to make reusable pads for these under privileged girls which includes tailoring ,over lock and buttoning machines, materials (vp) and second hand clothes,school bags where girls will carry their pads for change and dirty one after change, knickers because through surveys we carry out these are challanges facing girls also, to carry out seminars,on menstruation and puberty, soap, and funds to construct wash and change rooms and separate toilets.

The link of the fundraising is below

https://u31235.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=9NLJgHRO37X82xoYHDepz-2BmNwz...