Help Her Stay in School – Menstrual Hygiene Management

In Uganda, menstruation remains a significant barrier to education, often shrouded in stigma and restricted by a lack of access to essential hygiene products. The impact of these challenges is stark; according to the Auditor General of Uganda (2024), 64% of adolescent girls miss between 4 to 7 learning days every month. These recurring absences disrupt their academic progress, widen the gender gap in education, and often lead to complete school dropout, limiting the future potential of thousands of young women.

The “Help Her Stay in School” project is designed to break this cycle by ensuring that a natural biological process never compromises a girl’s right to learn. We address these barriers through comprehensive school-based outreach that provides practical training in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). A core component of our intervention is teaching girls how to create their own high-quality, reusable sanitary pads. This hands-on skill provides a sustainable, long-term solution to period poverty, allowing girls to manage their cycles with dignity and without financial strain.

Crucially, our approach recognizes that keeping girls in school requires a supportive community environment. We actively engage and train boys as allies in this mission, providing them with accurate information to dispel myths and end the culture of bullying or shaming. By fostering empathy and understanding among male students, we transform the school climate into one of mutual respect. We also complement this with psychosocial support to help girls navigate the challenges of adolescence with confidence.

Your support for this initiative directly removes the physical and social hurdles that keep girls out of the classroom. Together, we can ensure that every girl in Uganda has the opportunity to attend school every day of the month and achieve her full potential.