LIDEISA steps up fight to demystify menstruation taboos in rural schools
As LIDEISA steps up fight to demystify menstruation taboos in rural schools to ensure no girl misses lessons the organization has been appreciated by beneficiaries at Kitagobwa UMEA Primary School in Ngando sub-county-Butambala district.
“I have learnt how to perfectly use pads without blood outflow,” Nalwanga Sunaje, a P.7 pupil said “I am now more confident and proud about menstruation than before when I had to stay at home waiting for end of my periods to come back to school.”
Nandawula Masitulah joined her colleague saying, "I had never received a very serious talk about menstruation since I started it. It has been delivered in a way that makes it fun for all of us to understand and I was pleased to see boys and male teachers taught about what we go through and taught ways to support us especially at school instead of bullying us."
She also learnt how to fix LIDEISA reusable sanitary pads in knickers to “menstruate safely without blood leakages.
Diriisa Makumbi, school’s Headmaster said they have immensely benefited from this training LIDEISA brought because their girls have been equipped with good information about menstruation, better skills for effective menstrual hygiene and then given free LIDEISA reusable sanitary pads which altogether, will retain them in school.
Recently, the not-for-profit development and education social enterprise which offers holistic hands-on skills education and leadership mentorship, took its ongoing nationwide LIDEISA Pads Girls’ Education For Global Goals (LIGEGG) Campaign to Butambala district.
Speaking to 280 participants-boys and male teachers, inclusive, Deo Walusimbi, LIDEISA chief executive officer said his team is on a “mission to normalize menstruation” through menstrual hygiene management awareness sessions and pads’ donations.
In this particular session, LIDEISA donated 50 packs of reusable pads.
"From your responses, I understand that menstruation is still a taboo to almost all of you here," he said.
After doing a sampling of the participants’ knowledge and willingness to talk about it, Walusimbi emphasized, the sensitivity around menstruation means girls and boys are not receiving any information which makes open menstruation talk between teachers, girls and boys a viable option .
"It takes some time to begin a transformation and it's time we did it, because you would expect it to be a mother-daughter conversation but we realised. It is not done both at home and that there is no information from schools, hence our resolve to come and do it together," Walusimbi said.
LIDEISA’s campaign aims at increasing girls’ retention and concentration in school activities, curb spread of menstruation associated taboos and myths-including restriction from social activities, and reduced sexual abuses among poor school girls while exploring alternatives to secure sanitary pads.
