Faced with problems of absenteeism and school dropout among the girl child, a primary school in Gulu district has embarked on an initiative to locally make sanitary pads for their pupils.
Gulu Core Demonstration primary School has over the last few months made hundreds of the pads, which are made available to the girls for use whenever they require them. The school has also introduced the program among its co curricular activities where the pupils are taught how to locally make the wear.
Grace Amito, the school’s head mistress says that they found it cheaper and convenient to resort to the method as a solution to poor performance, absenteeism and school drop-out among the girls.
Presently, nearly all the girls in the school are able to make pads for their own use. She says the pads are made using pieces of cotton cloth, cotton wool, thread, needle and a piece of polythene paper that are sewn together to provide a pad with the capacity to ensure hygiene and comfort for the users.
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Molly Oyela, one of the pupils at Gulu Core Demonstration primary school said they were finding it easier to cope with the new innovation because it is cheaper and readily available.
While the administrators and girls in the school are celebrating the innovation, in other schools such a relief is non-existent. At Guruguru primary school, the administrators are worried that the absenteeism among the girls is increasing especially when they approach their menstruation cycles. Aidah Atto, the headmistress says that the practice has affected the performance of the girls in examinations as they often miss some of the lessons when they stay away from school.
Agnes Ataro, the school’s Senior Woman Teacher said that most of the girls never return for afternoon lessons whenever they are experiencing their cycles. She said in the past they have always relied on donations of sanitary pads from organizations such as the Girl Education Movement and School Feeding Program under UNICEF but this she says has also stopped.
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Lilly Ayugi, another Senior Woman Teacher at Parak primary school explains that the problem of the girl child is made worse by absence of friendly facilities at the schools. She said it would be appropriate for schools to designate special rooms where the girls can change but the girls are sharing toilet facilities with boys.
Meanwhile, Amito has said that her staff is willing to extend the training to other schools but lack the resources. She says that they could provide the training as soon as they mobilize funds to enable them.
In February and May 2010, a survey conducted by the Girls’ Education Movement reported that 40 percent of primary school girls mainly in upper primary classes in schools around Gulu district dropped out of school during menstruation due to lack of sanitary materials.
