A DAY AT NAKIVALE: STORIES OF HOPE, RESILIENCE AND THE POWER OF SHOWING UP.

In commemoration of Menstrual Hygiene Day 2025, Raising Teenagers Uganda partnered with Assorted Trends Africa for a training session aimed at equipping girls and young women with the skills to make reusable sanitary pads. This training was a powerful step towards achieving menstrual equity and dignity for girls in underserved communities and showed our ongoing commitment to breaking menstrual stigma, empowering girls through practical knowledge and creating safe environments where menstruation can be discussed openly and respectfully.

In many rural communities of Uganda, menstruation remains a silent struggle for countless adolescent girls. The challenges range from lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual stigma, missing school during menstruation and for some, they drop out of school.

Having recognized all the challenges that most adolescent girls go through, we organized a training session that aimed at equipping girls with both knowledge and hands-on skills in making reusable sanitary pads. The event brought together 30 participants from the different communities of Kayunga and participants learned how to make reusable sanitary pads using simple, affordable and locally available materials such as cotton cloth, towel fabric and waterproof layers. This training session was at a time when period poverty continues to hold back girls’ education, their health and mental well-being.

In Uganda, 6 in 10 girls miss school due to menstruation related challenges and this means many girls lose opportunities and it also widens the gender inequality gap. Through training, we are promoting long-term solutions that build community ownership and resilience among young people. The session was not just about making pads; it was about making menstruation normal.

By putting the tools directly in the hands of girls, this training bridged the gap between access and urgency. Menstrual health is not just a hygiene issue, it is a matter of human rights, gender equality and educational justice. Through initiatives like this, we are getting closer to a world where no girl is left behind because of her period.

Compiled by: Dorah Kamwine.