In December 2020, we led a community workshop in Jinja for 50 street connected girls to learn how to make reusable sanitary pads in partnership with Beyond Limitations Africa.
Sanitary items are crucial for anyone who menstruates, but these can be costly and access can be limited. Lack of access to sanitary pads can lead to girls missing school and all the opportunities that education brings.
Reusable sanitary pads are a way to ensure accessibility, and to help women and girls practice safe menstrual hygiene. Not only this, but reusable sanitary pads reduce throw away plastic waste from single use pads and thus are much more environmentally sustainable. So, these reusable sanitary towels represent a more economic and environmentally-friendly option all round.
The girls who attended either still do, or formerly lived and/or worked on the streets. They all come from poor households and struggle to access sanitary products.
For the girls who took part, they quickly got used to the process: learning how to measure and cut the fabric, sewing the material together, and getting familiar with the method. The girls thoroughly enjoyed developing a new life skill, and are excited to keep practicing it to further develop their skills.
They also received extra training in entreprenuership skills and sexual health education. This will allow them to consider making and selling the pads to earn some extra income to support their future studies. It also gave them chance to have key sexual health myths busted so they can better care for and protect themselves.
This was made possible thanks to The Catriona Hargreaves Charitable Trust. It was a huge success and we look forward to delivering more female-empowering programmes in the future.
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