By Sierra Raubenheimer
It was a long journey to Kampala, Uganda, but once I arrived at the nongovernmental organization Uganda For Her, it felt like home.
When I arrived, the founder of U4Her told me the story about how Uganda For Her started which was a heartfelt tale about how compassion can turn into activism.
U4Her is an organization that travels around to primary and secondary schools teaching girls and boys about menstrual health and hygiene.
The founder of U4Her saw a lack of support for young Ugandan girls during puberty. Many girls are left to understand their bodies alone with no guidance or education.
Menstruation is still a taboo topic in Uganda which leaves girls facing a harsh stigma of shame and embarrassment surrounding their natural process of maturing.
The stigma, paired with extreme poverty, leaves girls unable to have access to sanitary pads, which leads to missing or dropping out out school, which creates the cyclical cycle of poverty many girls and women find themselves in.
During my first week with Uganda For Her we went to a school in a rural area to check up on four girls who had received reusable sanitary pads from Uganda For Her.
When we talked to these girls, they were pleased with their pads and were missing less school due to their periods.
But when we were saying goodbye I noticed that many other girls were in just as much need for reusable sanitary pads.
I asked our leader how do you decide who receives the pads?
He told me that only the girls in the most vulnerable situations get the pads even though there are quite a number of girls at each school who desperately need them.
My follow up question was how do you get the pads? He told me that Uganda For Her has few donations of reusable sanitary pads, and most donation money goes towards buying one-time-use pads because it is cheaper.
On the car ride home back to Kampala I kept thinking about the confidence of the girls had who had received the pads and how there is such a demand for more reusable pads.
That’s where my idea for a social enterprise business that we called Pad 4 Her started.
Instead of relying on donated pads or for donation dollars to buy an unsustainable solution, I thought Uganda For Her could start making their own pads.
Now that the project is set in motion and our first pilot project is completed, donations towards Uganda For Her not only impact girls in Uganda, but also the women who make them.
Uganda For Her hires women in the community to create the pads. This gives them financial security and stability, while also giving them the skill of sewing.
Now donations that are received go towards employing women and creating reusable sanitary pads that can last up to a year for girls.
Uganda For Her does an amazing job teaching girls and boys about female health and menstruation, but now we are able to give them pads that will keep them healthy, in school, and empowered over their lives.
Pads 4 Her is a sustainable and impactful project for women and girls. It aligns with the goals and mission of Uganda For Her and increases the impact Uganda For Her can make.
Donations are now going to funding this project which means no more wasted dollars on one-time use pads. Instead, the donations go directly to employing and empowering women and providing girls with the basic needs and knowledge of female health.
My time with Uganda For Her was a whirlwind experience of personal growth but also a deeper understanding of what happiness and fulfillment means.
I come back to Summerland to share my experience and encourage everyone to always take part in something bigger than yourself because being selfless is the greatest gift you can give to yourself.
If you are interested in learning more about Uganda For Her visit uganda4her.org.
And if you are interested in donating, fundraising, or getting involved with Uganda For Her you can email pads4her@uganda4her.org.
Sierra Raubenheimer was born in Summerland. She recently worked in Kampala, Uganda with the nongovernmental organization, Uganda For Her. She was an intern there for three months and is now on the board of directors for the organization.