Update from Touch Africa Now

Recent Events

Activities

The women who were trained continue to meet and make menstrual pads to sell out to other women in the community.

They have also gone ahead and shared these skills with other women that missed the training within Nyakagando community. 

Personal Stories

“After suffering with allergic reactions for a long time from the old rags I was using during menstruation, I tried a reusable menstrual napkin I made from the training. It was gentle on my skin, and it didn’t cause any skin irritation or itching. I have taught my teenage daughters how to make these and I also encourage them to teach their friends. These menstrual napkins are more healthy-friendly and economical than disposable pads”.
Nabukalu Harriet

“I switched to my own handmade menstrual pads the moment I learnt to make some. I couldn’t look anywhere else when I now owned the skill of making these napkins. These napkins are very absorbent and easy to wash, hang, dry and don't stain. You can use a single pair for at least 1 year or 2. I also like the fact that I can make different sizes and colours that suit my preferences. I feel good about using them because they are better for my health and are very comfortable to wear and do not leak or move around. I no longer lock myself at home during menstruation because of fear that I may leak or stain my skirts before people around my community."
Bakole Firida

Partnership's Influence within the Community

The benefits here are many:

a) People have realized that we do not only preach the Gospel but care for the welfare of the community regardless of their faith. Some of the beneficiaries are Muslims and Catholics and not born again. This is a positive perspective.

b) Some church members that had stopped coming to church have returned as they revived old relationships with members in the local church.

c) The community leaders are positive about our presence in the community as we have created an atmosphere that keeps the women meeting and learning how to use things like the reusable sanitary pads and the sewing machine. 

d) The graduates of the program are happy that they can get some money from selling the reusable sanitary pads.

Current Issues and Challenges

a) Most school going girls in rural communities face a number of challenges and issues, i.e., they don’t receive adequate information about menstruation. They have misconceptions, myths and taboos for example some believe that menstruation is a curse, a disease or a sin of impurity.   

They cannot afford hygienic menstrual products because they’re expensive. They resort to using unhealthy materials like old dirty rags, papers, leaves or ash which cause them infections, irritation, and discomfort.

They face stigma and discrimination from their peers. They are bullied when they stain their clothes or reveal their menstrual status.

b) The women who trained still have limited access to some of the materials and tools used to make reusable menstrual pads, i.e., the plastic for preventing leakage is not available in rural areas and the sewing machines provided are not enough.

c) Increased unemployment amongst women mostly in the rural communities leads to them not being able to afford to buy the necessary materials. 

Plans for the Future

We have a Touch Africa Now (TAN) five-year strategic plan: 2023-2027

Goal 1: Enhance education and skill levels within communities.
Objective: Equip 60 youths and women with vocational skills in 2023 and increase to 250 in the next four years.

Goal 2: Improve household livelihoods and incomes.
Objective: To strengthen income generating projects to engage 300 households in our areas of operation in the next five years.

Goal 3:  Promote health, good sanitation and hygiene practices
- 300 youth and women equipped with vocation skills.
- Improved health, good sanitation and hygiene practices within communities where TAN operates. 

As part of this, two projects TAN would like to commence in 2024 are:

Vocational Skills Empowerment for Women
Ugandan women are disadvantaged in the labour market, less than 12% of economically active women are in paid employment, the remaining are either unemployed or contribute unpaid family labour. Most women between 15—35 years of age are living in poor living conditions due to unemployment. They are denied employment because they lack business development skills that are needed in the job market. This has increased vulnerability and gender inequality in communities.

To address the above issues, TAN suggests a comprehensive business development project that is to equip girls and women with hands-on skills in tailoring such that they can create their own jobs and train other women to become self-reliant. The course will run for 6-months and trainees will be assessed at a national level by the government department that accredits Vocational skills trainings (Directorate of Industrial Training) at the end of the training. Start-up kits will be given to graduates upon graduation to enable them to continue to use their new skills to generate an income for the family. 

The budget to run the first course is US$3,450 and the project will be evaluated at the end of the first course before a decision is made to run further courses. 

Upscale Reusable Pad Making in Schools
Although menstruation is a normal aspect of human life, in most African communities the subject is, however, considered as a taboo and has met may cultural hindrances and attitudes due to the perceptions among men/boys who believe that menstruating women are “contaminated, dirty and impure”.

Women/girls in rural areas particularly school going girls suffer from stigma, isolation, and rejection from fellow pupils, inadequate preparation of those that have not yet experienced their menstruations and lack of materials for managing menstruation. Girls miss 1-3 days of school every month and some drop out of school and hence increasing vulnerability among girls/women.

Currently the means of managing menstruation among girls in rural areas is mostly by use of old dirty rags, leaves, papers from their books and other unhygienic materials. To address the physical and psychological pains undergone by girls during their menstruation periods, TAN proposes that the reusable pads making be scaled up to schools, letting girls and teachers be equipped with the skills of making reusable menstrual pads using materials that are locally available in their communities.

Three schools will be selected to benefit from the project. The selected pupils and teachers will be organized to form health clubs in each of the schools which will then be provided with training material/equipment and trainings will be delivered to the selected beneficiaries. Routine follow-up visits to schools will be carried out and the project will be reviewed after one year. The budget required for these trainings is US$3,000.

(The BHW Executive has subsequently approved funding both these new projects which will commence in 2024.)

Prayer and Praise Points

Praise points

a) We thank God for Bright Hope World who came in at an appropriate time to give us the money that we needed for this project.

b) We thank God for the community’s massive positive response to the project. 

Prayer points 

a) Pray that we will be able to extend the project to other villages far from Nyakagando.

b) Pray that we will be able to get more funds to meet the costs for materials and allowances for trainers.