Pamela with her husband Bishop John Ntegyereize
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Doreen Pamela Ntegyereize
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Some of the girls had to accept advances from older guys so they could give them money for pads. I asked if they used old rags (‘obutengo’) and they said they caused “mapping” on their school uniforms because the old rags were not leak proof. When they stayed home from school during their periods they didn’t mind so much about the “mapping” on their “home clothes” as their clothes already had many other stains. One girl shared with me that she was an Orphan and was lucky to have guardians who paid her school fees and she didn’t want to burden them more for Pads during her menstruation. Her guardians had also other children of their own and there very little to care for them all. She fended for herself by asking from friends at school and saving from her pocket money meant to buy books. My heart went out to many families including the Batwa women who heavily depended on the forest for their livelihood, but were now in schools and in villages. What were they using?
For the girls whose parents worked long hours and earned little, whose priorities were food, salt and soap; pads were at the bottom of the list. During menstruation in some rural schools a young girl is excused from school to stay home and use her old rags. Others steal from their friends at school if they have nothing to use.
Eventually, I began making for my granddaughter cloth sanitary pads which she used gladly when she was at home for the holidays but she wouldn’t take them to boarding school for fear that other students would steal them. At first I was baffled; “who would steal a re-usable Pad that they knew was used over and over again by the same person? Weren’t they afraid to catch diseases?” As I listened harder and longer to the pain and desperation of the young women, I embarked on a journey of love to help the girls and young women of Kanungu and other districts. This journey eventually gave birth to O-PADS, O-WASH, O-FRESH deo, O-WIPES, O-DIAPERS (for babies) and the list goes on.
May what we have humbly begun in rural Uganda ultimately impact girls all over the world!
For the girls whose parents worked long hours and earned little, whose priorities were food, salt and soap; pads were at the bottom of the list. During menstruation in some rural schools a young girl is excused from school to stay home and use her old rags. Others steal from their friends at school if they have nothing to use.
Eventually, I began making for my granddaughter cloth sanitary pads which she used gladly when she was at home for the holidays but she wouldn’t take them to boarding school for fear that other students would steal them. At first I was baffled; “who would steal a re-usable Pad that they knew was used over and over again by the same person? Weren’t they afraid to catch diseases?” As I listened harder and longer to the pain and desperation of the young women, I embarked on a journey of love to help the girls and young women of Kanungu and other districts. This journey eventually gave birth to O-PADS, O-WASH, O-FRESH deo, O-WIPES, O-DIAPERS (for babies) and the list goes on.
May what we have humbly begun in rural Uganda ultimately impact girls all over the world!
Distribution and Results
The model for the distribution O-PADS is that we reach out to donors, well wishers, friends, government agencies and anyone willing to buy one girl, a school or a whole village; packs of O-PADS. Usually we target a whole school with a one-time gift so that every student has their own pack of O-PADS and then we move to another school. We have an O-Shop in Kanungu district and hope to have one in every district where O-Pads are introduced so that Parents and other stake holders can purchase O-Pads for themselves or to distribute to others. Large school orders for O-Pads can also be made at these O-Shops in various districts.
A survey was done 3 months after the distribution of O-PADS at Burema Secondary school (Kanungu) on 24/09/2014 and it showed that there were no more pad thefts in the school after all the 131 girls at Burema Secondary were given O-PADS. School attendance for the girls in boarding section changed significantly from 64 boarders in the first term to 82 boarders in the second term and 87 boarders in the third term. The girls said before the distribution of O-Pads they were not comfortable being boarders since at home they use rags which cannot be used at school. More surveys on the impact of O-Pads will be done in 2015 at Makhill Girls’ Vocational School (200 girls given O-Pads), Nyamiyaga Secondary School (100 girls) and Nyakabungu Girls’ School (310 girls). These are Schools in Kanungu district where O-PADS were donated.
O-Pads are made by a group of women and young girls being mentored under the programme and they earn an income. O-Pads deliver the pads to the girls at no extra charge. The pads are used for at least a year. This relieves the parents from the monthly sanitary pad costs for a whole year as they cater to the other needs of the family. As a result, the girls stay in school with no menstrual related absenteeism. The community gets better educated girls and there are fewer drop outs. O-Pads is also a mentoring and skills training group that hosts O-Clubs in schools where girls are using O-Pads. O-Talks on various topics like hygiene, etiquette, and entrepreneurship are conducted and during the holiday skills such as pottery, jewelry making, vegetable growing, and computer knowledge are passed on to the students.
I would like to see that there is no young girl or woman disempowered by the simple biological process of a menstruation period.
Please join me on this journey of love; maybe you grew up in a rural setting with many sisters and can identify with these young women. Maybe you’re a father who wouldn’t want anybody’s daughter to go through such circumstances. Perhaps you’ve never known lack or you are just looking for ways to show humanity that you care. O-Pads is a worthwhile cause for you to partner with. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions or make your donation today. We will get your help to those who need it the most!
Thank you!
Pamela
A survey was done 3 months after the distribution of O-PADS at Burema Secondary school (Kanungu) on 24/09/2014 and it showed that there were no more pad thefts in the school after all the 131 girls at Burema Secondary were given O-PADS. School attendance for the girls in boarding section changed significantly from 64 boarders in the first term to 82 boarders in the second term and 87 boarders in the third term. The girls said before the distribution of O-Pads they were not comfortable being boarders since at home they use rags which cannot be used at school. More surveys on the impact of O-Pads will be done in 2015 at Makhill Girls’ Vocational School (200 girls given O-Pads), Nyamiyaga Secondary School (100 girls) and Nyakabungu Girls’ School (310 girls). These are Schools in Kanungu district where O-PADS were donated.
O-Pads are made by a group of women and young girls being mentored under the programme and they earn an income. O-Pads deliver the pads to the girls at no extra charge. The pads are used for at least a year. This relieves the parents from the monthly sanitary pad costs for a whole year as they cater to the other needs of the family. As a result, the girls stay in school with no menstrual related absenteeism. The community gets better educated girls and there are fewer drop outs. O-Pads is also a mentoring and skills training group that hosts O-Clubs in schools where girls are using O-Pads. O-Talks on various topics like hygiene, etiquette, and entrepreneurship are conducted and during the holiday skills such as pottery, jewelry making, vegetable growing, and computer knowledge are passed on to the students.
I would like to see that there is no young girl or woman disempowered by the simple biological process of a menstruation period.
Please join me on this journey of love; maybe you grew up in a rural setting with many sisters and can identify with these young women. Maybe you’re a father who wouldn’t want anybody’s daughter to go through such circumstances. Perhaps you’ve never known lack or you are just looking for ways to show humanity that you care. O-Pads is a worthwhile cause for you to partner with. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions or make your donation today. We will get your help to those who need it the most!
Thank you!
Pamela
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