Uganda joined the rest of the world on Tuesday May 28, to mark the Menstrual Hygiene Day under the theme ‘It’s Time For Action’. The special day was coined by German based NGO Wash United in 2014 and aimed at breaking taboos surrounding menstruation and raising awareness about good menstrual hygiene management (MHM).
Uganda is one of the countries in the world with the worst track record of menstrual hygiene which has resulted to dire consequences like prevalent rate of school absenteeism and dropout among girls.
A recent study by BMJ Journal conducted in the country, indicates that 90.5% of girls failed to meet available criteria for adequate MHM, with no significant difference between those using reusable sanitary pads and those using existing methods, predominantly cloth. Due to lack of access to affordable sanitary towels, girls have resorted to a number of unhealthy ways to curb their monthly flows, from using mattress shreds, newspapers, banana leaves, corn husks, rags, digging holes and sitting on sand, to horrific stories of girls in Pader District sleeping with some boda boda riders because they promised to buy them pads.
This is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed urgently as it risks hindering women in achieving their goals and like this year’s theme emphasizes, now is the time for action.
Today we shine the spotlight on one of the young people who have committed themselves to advocating for menstrual hygiene for girls in Uganda.
Sasha Ferguson is a former TV presenter with WBS TV, humanitarian and a training Clinical Psychologist.
An avid believer of ‘team work, makes the dream work’, Sasha partnered with a few young people equally passionate about girls and women and launched their charity organization Draw A Smile Uganda in 2017.
“Our main focus is on women because we believe that educating and helping women acquire life skills is educating the nation at large.”
One of the organization’s most notable work has been advocating for menstrual hygiene management, an ongoing problem in Uganda and Africa at large which Sasha says will not end anytime soon unless men are also involved.
“It’s exactly what am doing for the campaign here, we help young girls boost their self-confidence through the menstrual trainings of making reusable pads and this is actually helping them feel comfortable around boys in school and also making boys understand that its normal and nothing to bully a girl about.”
Sasha and her team have carried out a number of community outreaches called “Free Being Me” in mostly underprivileged communities where they engage the people in discussions to understand their needs and problems and how they can address them, put up health camps where they carry out all sexual reproductive health activities, cancer screening, blood testing, counseling, hepatitis B vaccination, blood donations, among others.
Last month they carried out a successful visit to Bweya Children’s Home where they engaged about 150 girls in training them how to make their own sanitary pads, taught them about ovulation and safe days and also made donations.
“Each and every girl got an opportunity to get involved in making their own pads while the young little girls who are not yet menstruating watched closely to understand what it is all about and not to be surprised when their time comes.”
However, mobilization and access to materials remain a major hurdle in line with executing their work.
“Getting materials like mackintos can be so challenging because it some of the materials we need to make our menstrual campaigns a success.”
They have started seeing the fruits of their labor materialize in terms of changing the lives of the people, they have been able to provide girls with sanitary pads, educate them about their menstrual hygiene, cycle and how their bodies function. Additionally they have helped create jobs for at least 14 people in Katanga, one of the slums in Kampala through menstrual training.
“They started making reusable pads for selling and basing on our follow up this has changed their lives for better and also improved hygiene in the area since there are no pads dumped anyhow around the area.”
Sasha suggests in order to win the fight for menstrual hygiene, a number of things need to be done, for example emphasis should be shifted from donating pads to teaching young girls how to make their own, boys and men need to be included in discussions surrounding menstruation so as to lower the stigma surrounding girls as some are clueless about it. This in particular was brought to her attention during one of their questions and answer sessions where girls get to talk about their first experiences menstruating.
“One girl mentioned that she told her brother about it and the brother told her that she is sick and that she is going to die. Well, I asked her why she did turn to her mother or an elder for immediate help but mentioned that she feared her mum which also came to my attention that we need to help girls bridge the gap between them and their parents or guardians and in that sense they will live healthier safe lives.”
Sasha and her team are currently organizing their annual sports event ‘5On5 Games’ to raise funds that will be used to purchase pads for over 2,000 girls in Jinja District. The event that will involve games like football tournaments, board games, volley ball, among others, will take place on July 7.
You can be a part of this campaign by reaching out to them through their different social media platforms, Instagram @drawasmileUG and Facebook page: Draw A Smile Uganda or visiting their website www.drawasmileug.org.
“We want to end gender inequality and to do that we need everyone to be involved. You are the change you want to see.”
