WINGS FOR HER

The inability to manage menstruation contributes to absences of 4-5 school days monthly. According to UNICEF 2015 data, 1 in 10 girls in Uganda skips school or drops out entirely due to lack of menstrual products and poor access to proper sanitation. The plight of ladies in managing menstruation is worse in refugee settlements in West Nile where girls and boys continue to share latrine stances in schools and prohibitive prices of pads. CEPAD therefore proposes to support two schools in Rhino settlement and the host by improving infrastructure for MHM, trainings on MHM and hand making of reusable sanitary pads, distribution of reusable sanitary pads and awareness creation. The project will impact on the performance of the girls through increased attendance, reduce on school dropout and improve retention of girls and completion of their studies. The project will reduce the stigma girls’ face hence improving their participation in development.

At least 500 million females globally lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). Inadequate facilities in schools, workplaces or health centers, can pose a major obstacle to ladies. A growing body of evidence shows that girls’ inability to manage their menstrual hygiene in schools, results in school absenteeism, which in turn, has severe economic costs on their lives and on the country. Menstruation is linked to maturity and is often taken as a marker of adulthood for girls. This may propagate early marriage in some communities in rural areas and also perpetuates social, financial and academic inequality. Health education is focused on reproductive health while MHM is very often an after-thought. Disposable sanitary towels are often expensive and unavailable in some rural settings. In Uganda sanitary towels for one girl can cost up to 10% of household income (Averbach et al., 2009). In lieu of disposable sanitary towels in many rural settings, ladies recycle old clothes or use inappropriate materials which characteristically come with negative hygiene and health effects. In the absence of such poor quality materials, girls withdraw from the school and community activities or face stigma, isolation, embarrassment and stress.

CEPAD will use an inclusive, and transparent approach. The two schools that will benefit from this project will be selected in collaboration with the Local authorities after a joint assessment of all the Government and Refugee schools in the Sub County that are officially registered with the Ministry of Education. The assessment will include the presence of appropriate infrastructure, materials, availability of water for proper management of menstruation as well as the practices among other parameters. One of the conditions for selection of a school will be their acceptance/commitment to contribute towards the project in order to ensure sustainability. From each selected school, eighty girls will be selected from P4 – P7, 10 boys from P5 –P7 and 4 teachers to be trained on MHM, life skills and adolescents. 20 girls and 10 boys will be trained on skills of hand making of reusable pads using readily affordable materials. Five hundred girls in adolescent age will be selected to benefit from the reusable pads. CEPAD will engage with community at large through workshops and sensitization campaigns on menstrual management. Then CEPAD shall sign MoUs with each of the two selected schools on terms of engagement and continuity.

Education of girls directly impacts health and national development. Educated women tend to have fewer children and raise healthier families. This in turn leads to low fertility  and higher market productivity thereby improving the national economy. In Uganda, however, this potential is cut short with girls dropping out or not attending school, which is reflected in the low female literacy levels of approximately 58%. About 44% of girls are reported to drop out of school before completing their secondary education. One reason for this interruption could be inadequate MHM ( BMC,2018).

The solution serves adolescent school girls in refugee and host schools in Rhino refugee settlement in West Nile. The solution seeks to change the minds of the entire community towards menstrual menses. The girls will learn how to manage menstruation and body changes; learn how to hand make reusable pads with local materials and sell some for money. This intervention will contribute to improved performance of girls in schools as they will have more school days, reduce on school drop-out and increase number of girls completing education, reducing early and or unwanted pregnancies and child marriage. Consequently unlocking their potential to achieve their dreams and contribute to national development.

 According to UNICEF 2015 data, 1 in 10 school girls in Uganda, skips school or drops out entirely due to lack of menstrual products and poor access to proper sanitation. This situation is worse in refugee settlements in West Nile. CEPAD intends to support through improving infrastructure for MHM, trainings on MHM, hand making and distribution of reusable sanitary pads and sensitization that will impact on the performance of the girls through increased attendance, reduce on school dropout and improve retention of girls and completion of their studies thus reducing the barriers to the girls realizing their full potential.

CEPAD will focus on making reusable sanitary pads this is because it is more sustainable and locally made. We have done this since 2015 and have trained tailors to make the pads with the standards of Uganda bureau of standards. using recommended material. provide soap, buckets, jerrican, extra pads to be kept in the store to take care of girls who might see their period during school hours.  our approach is people centered and will contribute to capacity building of these women and girls and ensure improved access to affordable hygienic pads, CEPAD opts engaging in the production of reusable pads through established training of women girls at community level. This is with hope to localize supply of pads  by local women who can produce and sale the pads and improve on the income levels among women, local women trained in making local pads for distribution/sale among women and girls  are those who cannot afford the factory made reusable .  In addition their capacity is built in business skills to enable them manage their enterprise. At institutional level boys and girls in the school health clubs have been empowered to neat local re-usable pads  and schools have been encouraged to integrate this  as part of the art and craft session to facilitate the stock of emergency pads for use in schools and CEPAD provides the material for these training

We shall use the manufacturing technology by tailoring the pads. Cloth menstrual pads can be made from new materials or from old materials such as old pillow cases, sheets, and towels. 100% cotton fleece fabric. we use old material for training purposes.

For new pads, we normally buy the recommended materials needed for making the pads, we then assembly our tailors for a certain period of time, depending on number of pads needed,the pad are locked with baby-lock at the end to avoid it from opening and causing uncomfortable feeling

To make reusable menstrual pads is very simple, we cut 2 round-edged diamonds out of cotton flannel and sewing them together.  Then cut a vertical slit in 1 layer of the fabric, turn the material inside out through the slit, and stitch around the top to form the pad base. we then make bags out of another fabric, put the pads in a plastic bag and then insert them in the bags. We do training and sensitization at community and schools before  to target population to avoid misuse and mismanagement.

we also involve boys and male teachers in our trainings. this also helps to send the message that, it is not women problem, it is a health issue that men can support their matters, sisters and wives and so far schools have responded positively to that approach. we also use behavioral technology that focuses on capacity building through training and sensitization to change people's traditional attitudes towards menstruation. 

tailoring is widely used in Africa. you see see on CEPAD websitdehttps://cepadwestnile.org/ to view some of the work that has been done.We use both ordinary and advance machines to produce the standard pads as required. you can also see days for girls Uganda at https://www.daysforgirls.org/s... the Oscar winning documentary “Period". is example of how important local material are more sustainable. you can see more on this oscar award at https://oscar.go.com/news/winn...

Our material are purchased from the market and it follows the normal process of tailoring. we assembly all resources including human resources in the workshop in a safe and clean place where the pads are made, after making, the pad are packed  in water resistant plastic bags before putting in cloth bag ready for distribution. you can see an academic paper  by Hennegan at el at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p....

Activities

Production of pads

Trainings of women, boys and girls

Sensitization campaigns.

Distribution  of pads

Construction of menstrual hubs

Outputs    

• Young girls will learn about their body changes.
• School girls will learn life skills.
• Increased awareness.
• School girls will learn how to make reusable pads.
• School girls will receive one reusable pads.

                                                                             
Outcome  

• Reduced absenteeism among girls in project schools
• Improved lives of young girls.
• Increase self-esteem of needy host and refugee girls
• Improved academic performance.
• Change of attitude has not only occurred among boys who now consider menstruation as normal
• Reduced early pregnancies and rate of HIV infections
• Better, well informed and supportive communities

• Reduced on school dropouts and absenteeism.
•  Increased awareness on healthy lifestyle and behavior.

Impact;

Girls attain higher levels of education and become successful

Educated girls have healthier life style and healthy families

Educated girls work and contribute to national development

Consequently reduce on poverty

Currently CEPAD supports 500 girls(direct beneficiaries) in two primary and secondary schools in West Nile with reusable pads and trains them on hand making of reusable pads with locally available materials. CEPAD has also constructed menstrual hubs in two schools for better hygiene management of menstruation during school time.

With Support from PERTERA-USA and MIT, CEPAD will in the year 2020/2021 support more 1000 girls in refugee and host schools within West Nile with Menstrual hubs, reusable pads, trainings and awareness creation.

CEPAD five year plan is to reach 10,000 girls within West Nile with different packages for better menstrual management in schools and communities.

To empower vulnerable refugee and host community  girls and women through provision of reusable sanitary pads and train them how to make the pads and increase their income through sale of pads. Through experience over the past six years, CEPAD has come to appreciate that the biggest challenge in changing communities is knowledge gap. Therefore CEPAD has developed training curricula on menstrual hygiene that once introduced to the schools, they can carry on with the education on menstrual management. Other behavior/attitude change strategies have been developed for the communities. At CEPAD we believe if teaching communities how to fish than giving them fish. So we provide them hands on skills to make their own pads using hands or simple technologies. CEPAD recognizes that for its projects to be more sustainable and have significant impact, we use an integrated approach of inclusion which is multi-sectoral through advocacy and lobbying.

Financial barriers; CEPAD until recently has been relying on fund raising through friends and the membership fees of its member to support its activities. This has limited the extend to which CEPAD can reach the number of girls and women.

Technical barrier; At CEPAD we use simple sawing machines which have low efficiency thus limiting the production of pads.

Cultural barriers; Menstruation in some cultures is seen as an onset of adulthood in women and so girls are viewed as ready for marriage and usually given off to suitors.This taboo has to be broken

Market barriers; some of the materials used to make the  pads are very expensive that we may not afford the best quality thus end up using lesser quality. The competition in the market with imported the pads make it difficult for small organizations like CEPAD to compete.

CEPAD has expanded its fund raising base and creating more networks for partnership.

CEPAD plans to acquire more advanced technology that can produce as many pads in a shorter time,.

CEPAD will engage with the cultural leaders in dialogue on the issue of early marriage due to the on set of menstruation in girls

CEPAD will join with others to advocate for tax exemptions on sanitary pads and materials for making of pads. CEPAD will also advocate for the promotion of local producers.

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Our team has 3 full time staff i.e. the Programs officer and two the Project staff.

Six Part time staff i.e. the Finance/Admin, the Interim ED, the HR, M&E, the Engineer and the tailor .

CEPAD does not have a means of mobility of its own and so hires vehicle from contractors to carry out activities.

CEPAD has built a wealth experience, knowledge and the technical expertise in MHM projects with support from PERTERA AND FOYA-UGANDA in the last six years of its existence. CEPAD is founded on core values among which is integrity transparency and accountability which is actualized through well-established organization systems. We are experienced at managing grants and delivering quality service to beneficiaries. CEPAD also has very good understanding of the context of the people and region that enables ease of engagement with the community. CEPAD has been working among the hard to reach and most disadvantaged communities for the last six years with tangible results. (See website for some of our work). 

CEPAD will work closely with the local authority/local government especially the office of the District Education department throughout the implementation and handover for continued support and sustainability. The involvement of the schools contribution in the project will create ownership and a basis for sustainability. The training of the beneficiaries on MHM and hand making of reusable sanitary pads will increase their knowledge and skills which the beneficiaries can transfer to their families, friends and other community members hence having multiplier effect. The teachers who are trained will continue educate and sensitize the girls and boys on menstrual hygiene management in their schools as they continue teaching in the same school

CEPAD has currently two partners;

1. Umverteilem Shiftung, a German institution that has been supporting CEPAD since 2019 to empower women in Rhino refugee settlement and host through nonviolent conflict transformation and skills building.

2. PERTERA-PURTO RICO, USA has supported CEPAD since 2013 to provide reusable sanitary pads, training on local production of pads, construction of menstruation hubs in schools in West Nile.

This solution will directly benefit adolescent girls in refugee and host schools within West Nile. the indirect beneficiaries include other students and teachers, families, and the entire community in the long run.

This solution is designed in such a way that all the stakeholders are involved right from the planning through implementation, monitoring and accountability. The products will take into consideration the environmental, health, cultural and economic values.

Through this solution the girls will regain their confidence and time to attend school and pursue their education and become productive citizens. This is measured through school attendance, performance records and surveys.

Any savings that will be realized will be used to procure more machines for sawing the pads that can be used to establish a training school with time.

CEPAD will continue to fund raise through its partners and networks for grants.The interventions will continue to sustain themselves since the beneficiaries will be equiped with skills that they can transfer to others and make their own pads for use and sell.

CEPAD plans to produce reusable pads for commercial purposes and use some of the proceedings to support the projects.

One of the strategy of CEPAD of sustainability is partnership with local grass root institutions and provide technical support to them to carry on with some of the interventions in their communities.

Wings for Her is a solution that would empower many refugee and host girls in schools to build confidence and pursue their dreams with more focus. However this may not be easy to actualize due to the barriers that range from low technological development of equipment, high cost of materials, financial constraints, unfavorable market dynamics and cultural limitations. CEPAD therefore seeks support to improve its technology by acquiring advanced and more efficient equipment. The equipment includes those that can be used for processing local raw materials like banana fiber to fine products that can be used as material for making pads.

CEPAD also seeks financial support to be able to construct appropriate menstrual hubs in the schools. As well as facilitation to conduct different trainings and workshops with the beneficiaries to address the attitude, belief and behavioral shortcomings as well as knowledge gap.

CEPAD as a growing institution would benefit from solve through technical equipment and trainings, internal institutional capacity building through training, mentor-ship and systems development.

CEPAD through this solution aims to eliminate menstruation as a barrier to girls education. According to UNICEF 2015 data, 1 in 10 school girls in Uganda, skips school or drops out entirely due to lack of menstrual products and poor access to proper sanitation. CEPAD therefore proposes to construct menstrual hubs, distribute reusable pads, train on hand making of reusable pads, train on better MHM and create awareness.

CEPAD hopes to receive financial support from solver MIT to be able achieve its objectives above.

CEPAD also hopes to get connected to other partners through MIT in order to grow and expand its operations.

CEPAD looks forward to a partnership that will invest in institutional development of the organization through capacity building.

CEPAD is open to partner with organizations, institutions, individuals, MIT, solve members, initiatives that share the same or similar vision, mission and values with CEPAD. These entities could help CEPAD advance her solution through financial support, technical guidance, provision of equipment, trainings and linking CEPAD to other networks.

CEPAD since its inception in 2013 has been working with refugees in West Nile with specific focus on women and youth. In 2016, CEPAD conducted a three days workshop in Arua district targeting urban youth and women refugees from Arua Town and the host community. In 2019 CEPAD has been working with refugee and host women in Rhino camp settlement to increase the role of women in peace building and non violent conflict transformation. CEPAD therefore has a track record and experience of working with refugee women and do better understanding of the challenges and socio-economic dynamics of refugee women. CEPAD will mobilize the women into groups and train them on different income generation skills then provide them with start up skills and business training.

CEPAD Since 2013 has been promoting girl child education through provision of sanitary pads, construction of menstrual hubs in schools, training of students, teachers and community leaders on MHM, raising awareness on importance of girl child education, construction and equipment of libraries in rural schools within West Nile. CEPAD therefore is in position to provide the right solutions to girls and women with the experience and background.