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https://www.athensnews.com/opinion/commentary/fundraiser-supports-a-brighter-future-for-girls-in-uganda-with-much-needed-feminine-hygiene-products/article_4ae09ff0-61db-11ec-a7aa-037cf322acdf.html
Jennifer's Story
A Brighter Future for Girls in Uganda with a Fundraiser for Much Needed Feminine Hygiene Products
By Bernhard Debatin
Female Students in Uganda need no longer miss school when they have their period. A project in the city of Mukono that aims at providing girls with menstrual pads is now supported by a fundraiser. It is organized by Paige Foster, a master’s student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Ohio University.
It all started in 2017 with Jennifer Ojiambo Isiko, who worked as a counselor and community advocate in her hometown Mukono near Kampala, Uganda. She noticed that some of the girls she was counseling would not go to school during their period. And she recalled that she encountered similar obstacles in her youth: “One of the struggles I remember going through as a teenager was actually finding pads,” she said.
As the former director of the community organization Hand in Hand Uganda, she initiated a program that provides girls with reusable menstrual pads to increase school retention. “One of the leading causes of school dropout among girls in Uganda is the lack of feminine products to use during menstruation,” said Jennifer. She added that many girls are embarrassed and often get harassed during their period because they don’t have feminine hygiene products. Others may even sell their bodies for sex to be able to pay for menstrual pads. Yet, this money often comes at the cost of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Today, Jennifer is a doctoral student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Ohio University. She came all the way from Uganda to continue her education in counseling, temporarily leaving behind her husband and three sons, as well as her beautiful home in Mukono. She is eager to return home once she has obtained her Ph.D. and she wants to enrich her work and her community with the new skills and knowledge she is learning at Ohio University.
Through the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, she met Paige Foster. “We are together in a class, and I saw Jennifer’s presentation on her home and her work with the girls,” said Paige, “and as a woman that really affected me, but also as someone who spent time in community health and health promotion.” She added that she feels fortunate that she never had to struggle with these kinds of basic needs.
When Paige heard about the project to provide girls with reusable menstrual pads, she knew what she had to do: “It stuck with me and it affected me, so that's kind of how this all came about. I set up that Gofundme page so that we can hopefully raise more money.” Initially, she just wanted to privately donate some money to the project, but then she realized that a fundraiser would be a great opportunity for getting out the word and collecting donations.
Jennifer was pleasantly surprised about this unexpected support. “I felt humbled. I felt excited. I felt I was like, yeah, I‘ve got somebody who really thinks like me.”
As of today, the project is limited to the city of Mukono, but Jennifer hopes that initiatives such as the Gofundme campaign will help to extend its reach. Making sure that girls in Uganda get a good education is her greatest concern: “I am passionate about is keeping the girls in school,” she said. Paige’s campaign will help in getting closer to this goal.
Editor’s note: Dr. Bernhard Debatin teaches Journalism in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. He is also a master’s student in the Clinical Mental Health Program and knows both Jennifer and Paige through their classes.
Tracy's Story
Image of the article on our fundraising efforts, featured in Ohio University's HESA eNewsletter this month... link to eNewsletter below!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iC8f-M-h809QVjoa1ETeuUG8V_NQxTAe/view?usp=sharing
More Info...
Imagine a young girl who is unable to attend school because she is on her period and cannot afford the feminine hygiene products so many of us take for granted!
This is the reality for thousands of Ugandan girls. About 86% of Ugandan girls miss school because of menstruation. Of the girls who must miss school because they lack the financial means to purchase feminine hygiene products, about 23% drop out of school altogether.
Lacking pads is one of the leading causes of school dropout among Ugandan girls. The lack of financial security has led some young women, out of desperation and a lack of options, to sell their bodies as a means to purchase pads. This money has come at the cost of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Hand in Hand Uganda (HIHU) is a community-based organization involved in promoting girls' retention in school through menstrual hygiene management promotion. This project provides reusable pads for girls in school, as well as teaches them how to make hygiene products to sustain their stock when necessary. The project, which started in 2017, has so far provided pads to over 3000 teenagers.
The biggest challenge is the magnitude of need!
Ladies, please take a moment to imagine yourself in their situation…
Can you imagine not being able to afford or obtain female hygiene products? How about not being able to pursue an education because you can’t afford or obtain pads?!
Help me support young girls in Uganda by donating to this worthy cause.
A pack of reusable pads, which lasts for 2 years, costs $7.
Please check out their website for more information!
https://www.handinhanduganda.org/menstrual-hygiene-management
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE GIRLS HYGIENE INITIATIVE!!!
(Program images provided by HIHU)
Pads distribution during school time by Hand In Hand Uganda kept girls happy and stable at school.
Students demonstrate how to fit pads on the nicker to keep it firm.
Taking awareness to the community is a way to access girls during schools lockdown.
The boy child involvement helps to reduce the embarrassment caused to girls when they happen to stain their clothes.
Jennifer's Story
A Brighter Future for Girls in Uganda with a Fundraiser for Much Needed Feminine Hygiene Products
By Bernhard Debatin
Female Students in Uganda need no longer miss school when they have their period. A project in the city of Mukono that aims at providing girls with menstrual pads is now supported by a fundraiser. It is organized by Paige Foster, a master’s student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Ohio University.
It all started in 2017 with Jennifer Ojiambo Isiko, who worked as a counselor and community advocate in her hometown Mukono near Kampala, Uganda. She noticed that some of the girls she was counseling would not go to school during their period. And she recalled that she encountered similar obstacles in her youth: “One of the struggles I remember going through as a teenager was actually finding pads,” she said.
As the former director of the community organization Hand in Hand Uganda, she initiated a program that provides girls with reusable menstrual pads to increase school retention. “One of the leading causes of school dropout among girls in Uganda is the lack of feminine products to use during menstruation,” said Jennifer. She added that many girls are embarrassed and often get harassed during their period because they don’t have feminine hygiene products. Others may even sell their bodies for sex to be able to pay for menstrual pads. Yet, this money often comes at the cost of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Today, Jennifer is a doctoral student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Ohio University. She came all the way from Uganda to continue her education in counseling, temporarily leaving behind her husband and three sons, as well as her beautiful home in Mukono. She is eager to return home once she has obtained her Ph.D. and she wants to enrich her work and her community with the new skills and knowledge she is learning at Ohio University.
Through the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, she met Paige Foster. “We are together in a class, and I saw Jennifer’s presentation on her home and her work with the girls,” said Paige, “and as a woman that really affected me, but also as someone who spent time in community health and health promotion.” She added that she feels fortunate that she never had to struggle with these kinds of basic needs.
When Paige heard about the project to provide girls with reusable menstrual pads, she knew what she had to do: “It stuck with me and it affected me, so that's kind of how this all came about. I set up that Gofundme page so that we can hopefully raise more money.” Initially, she just wanted to privately donate some money to the project, but then she realized that a fundraiser would be a great opportunity for getting out the word and collecting donations.
Jennifer was pleasantly surprised about this unexpected support. “I felt humbled. I felt excited. I felt I was like, yeah, I‘ve got somebody who really thinks like me.”
As of today, the project is limited to the city of Mukono, but Jennifer hopes that initiatives such as the Gofundme campaign will help to extend its reach. Making sure that girls in Uganda get a good education is her greatest concern: “I am passionate about is keeping the girls in school,” she said. Paige’s campaign will help in getting closer to this goal.
Editor’s note: Dr. Bernhard Debatin teaches Journalism in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. He is also a master’s student in the Clinical Mental Health Program and knows both Jennifer and Paige through their classes.
Tracy's Story
Image of the article on our fundraising efforts, featured in Ohio University's HESA eNewsletter this month... link to eNewsletter below!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iC8f-M-h809QVjoa1ETeuUG8V_NQxTAe/view?usp=sharing
More Info...
Imagine a young girl who is unable to attend school because she is on her period and cannot afford the feminine hygiene products so many of us take for granted!
This is the reality for thousands of Ugandan girls. About 86% of Ugandan girls miss school because of menstruation. Of the girls who must miss school because they lack the financial means to purchase feminine hygiene products, about 23% drop out of school altogether.
Lacking pads is one of the leading causes of school dropout among Ugandan girls. The lack of financial security has led some young women, out of desperation and a lack of options, to sell their bodies as a means to purchase pads. This money has come at the cost of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Hand in Hand Uganda (HIHU) is a community-based organization involved in promoting girls' retention in school through menstrual hygiene management promotion. This project provides reusable pads for girls in school, as well as teaches them how to make hygiene products to sustain their stock when necessary. The project, which started in 2017, has so far provided pads to over 3000 teenagers.
The biggest challenge is the magnitude of need!
Ladies, please take a moment to imagine yourself in their situation…
Can you imagine not being able to afford or obtain female hygiene products? How about not being able to pursue an education because you can’t afford or obtain pads?!
Help me support young girls in Uganda by donating to this worthy cause.
A pack of reusable pads, which lasts for 2 years, costs $7.
Please check out their website for more information!
https://www.handinhanduganda.org/menstrual-hygiene-management
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE GIRLS HYGIENE INITIATIVE!!!
(Program images provided by HIHU)
Pads distribution during school time by Hand In Hand Uganda kept girls happy and stable at school.Students demonstrate how to fit pads on the nicker to keep it firm.Taking awareness to the community is a way to access girls during schools lockdown.The boy child involvement helps to reduce the embarrassment caused to girls when they happen to stain their clothes.
Co-organizers (3)
Paige Foster
Organizer
Athens, OH
Bernhard Debatin
Co-organizer
Taaka Loyce
Co-organizer