ONE STEP. ONE STORY. ONE GIRL AT A TIME. #Hike4GirlsUg:

Every year since 2017, Raising Teenagers Uganda puts boots on the ground and hearts on a mission. It’s called #Hike4GirlsUg a movement to ending Menstrual Stigma, creating a period friendly world where girls can menstruate with dignity. This year the Hike for girls went regional ie Uganda hiked Tororo Rock in Eastern Region, Kenya hiked Zaina Falls Nyeri and was led by Coalition for Peace and Gender Champions and Tanzania Hiked Pugu Kazimzumbwi Forest and was led by The Brighter Binti Foundation.

Hike for girls is not about conquering mountains, It’s about confronting the real struggles girls face because of period poverty, stigma and silence. When hikers rise up steep hills, they carry with them the stories of girls who miss school, face shame or suffer in silence simply because they menstruate and lack pads.

Why We Hike

We hike to speak when others are silent. Menstruation should never be a barrier but for many girls, it still is. We hike to break the silence and raise awareness in every village, every school and every community.

We hike to give and each step helps provide reusable sanitary pads, menstrual health education and safe spaces for girls, this is not charity, it’s dignity.

We hike for change. We walk together with parents, students, activists and professionals because the more voices join, the louder the message become.

When we hike, we carry more than backpacks, we carry hope, we carry dignity, we carry the belief that a girl’s body should never be a source of shame.

So, tie your laces. Join the movement. And let your footsteps be part of a bigger story.

Because when we hike for girls, we rise with them.

Compiled by Mercy Nkakara