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| Machine handover at Nkokoma P/S |
<Activities conducted>
1. Delivery
of Sewing machines and pad making training in 20
target schools in Wakiso and Butambala
2. Radio
talk shows in Wakiso and Mubende
3. Air Spot Messages to raise awareness on support for
girls’ education and increase on reusable sanitary pad users in all target
districts
4. Happy pad promotion centre in Wakiso
5. Updates
on renovation of schools (Christ the King and Kiyita Primary Schools) in Mubende
1. Delivery of
Sewing machines and pad making- training in 20
target schools in Wakiso and Butambala
In Wakiso, sewing machines were delivered
from 25 to 28/10/2022 in the ten target schools and trainings were conducted to
teach members of the school including teachers, students, parents and a few
members of the school management committee on how to make reusable pads. The
students were mainly MHM club members of each school and other students from
upper primary who were interested in the training.
In Butambala, trainings were conducted to
teach members of the school communities including teachers, parents and members
of the school management committee on how to make reusable pads from 8
to 12/10/2022. Trainings were conducted in all
the 10 target schools in attendance of the MHM club members of each school and
other enthusiastic learners.
Wakiso
Butambala
2. Radio
Talk Show in Wakiso and Mubende
One hour radio talk shows conducted at
Voice of Kiryagonja on 27/10/2022 in Wakiso and at Luna Fm in Mubende on
28/10/2022. The community was reminded about the need to support adolescent
girls especially those that cannot afford sanitary material so that they can
comfortably stay at school.
In Wakiso, the major talking point was
about the happy-pad promotion Centre located at Katalemwa Senior Secondary
School, the training timetable and reusable pads that the team had introduced
in the target schools, how to make them, how to use the pads and how to keep
them clean.
In Mubende, the major talking point was
about proper menstrual management, educating the girl child, the sewing
machines that will be delivered in the 10 target schools to enable training of
those schools on reusable pad making, their usage and how to keep them clean.
Also promised listeners that these will be supplied after removal of lockdown.
3. Air Spot Messages to raise awareness on support for
girls’ education and increase on reusable sanitary pad users
Spot
messages about Menstrual Hygiene Management, girls’ education and reusable
sanitary pad are aired as follows;
· Mubende via Luna FM 6 times a day.
· Wakiso via Voice of Kiryagonja and Tiger FM 10
times a day.
· Butambala aired 11 times at Voice of Butende and 10 times at Voice of Kikambwe.
4.
Happy
pad promotion centre in Wakiso
A total of 128 pads were produced this month. 23
students were trained and 8 outsiders from the community visited the promotion
centre. No sales have been made yet but we are hopeful that we shall make sales
as we keep marketing during talk shows, and community sensitizations
5. Updates on renovation
of schools (Christ the King and Kiyita Primary Schools) in Mubende
Christ the King and Kiyita primary schools have made some progress to
provide fair spaces for girls wash and changing rooms. All this has happened
amidst challenges of limited financial resources. This being third term of the
year all efforts are geared towards ensuring that children do examinations in
order to move to the next class. The ebola outbreak and associated lockdown has
also stopped parents ability to make contribution for fast completion of the
wash/changing rooms at the two schools.The current situation which will remain
the same until next year 2023 is presented in the photographs below;
Positive influence
· Participants (learners, teachers and parents)
were excited to learn how to make reusable pads (Wakiso and Butambala)
· Boys participated attentively and were eager to
learn more especially at Kitungwa C/U Primary School (Wakiso and Butambala)
· Some of the parents and teachers had basic
tailoring skills which made training easier (Wakiso and Butambala)
· After the training, participants appreciated
the support thanking SORAK, VOTU and GBN for the initiative. (Wakiso and
Butambala)
· At Ssayi Bright Primary School the members of
the PTA (Parents Teachers’ Association) and School Management Committee were
present during the exercise and they appreciated the support given to the
school and promised to work hand in hand with the project team towards the
success of the project activity implementation. (Wakiso)
· At Ssanga C/U primary school, the team met a
bigger audience as it was a speech day where many parents, religious leaders,
local leaders, students, members of the PTA and the School management committee
were present. The Municipal Education Officer was present and he commended
SORAK for the good job. (Wakiso)
· While at Voice of Kiryagonja, the presenter
requested the team to drop some pads at the radio station for the community
members to have access in case of need. (Wakiso)
· Community members appreciated spot messages
that are aired daily reminding them of proper Menstrual Hygiene Management
(Mubende and Wakiso)
· Listeners appreciated the idea of providing
sewing machines and training on reusable pad making in the 10 target schools.
This was evidenced by the number of calls they made during the talk show which
showed their eagerness to receive them. (Mubende)
Challenges
· Schools were preparing for the Primary Living
Exams and the Primary Seven students did not effectively participate but they
were advised to utilize the vacation and attend trainings in making reusable
sanitary pads at their respective schools (Wakiso)
·
Among
the ten schools only one student at
Kitanda C/U primary school could operate the sewing machine and the rest needed
serious training. (Wakiso)
· 3 schools had no power and had no plans of
installing soon. Machines will be replaced with manual machines (Butambala)
· Teachers worried about how to acquire user
material to start production. The team advised the participants to be creative
and mobilize resources. (Wakiso and Butambala)
· The 2 hours training per school was insufficient
time considering the number of trainees. Head teachers requested the team to
schedule other training sessions during the project life cycle. The head
teacher at Bule Umea primary school suggested that we should consider a
community training center to reach more people (Butambala)
· Due to Ebola pandemic, a lockdown was imposed
on the 16/10/2022 first for 21 days and later extended for another 21 days
stopped some activities like training in pad making till the situation improves
hence affecting the programs that were met to take place during that period.
(Mubende).
· Slow response from community members willing to
take on training in pad making. Potential trainees want to take on a whole
package of tailoring but not pad making only.
Recommendations
· After-training, assessment should be done soon
(Wakiso and Butambala)
· Each practical training session should be
attended by at least 15 members so that the training is effective. (Butambala)
· Theory lessons for measurements, cuttings, how
to use pads and how to clean them should be conducted prior to the practical
sewing. (Butambala)
· Records of the trainings should be kept at
school (Wakiso and Butambala)
· Schools should identify possible ways of
accessing pad making materials (Wakiso and Butambala)
Lessons learnt
·
It was learnt that most of the schools had an idea concerning
the use of the sewing machines and some lacked knowledge about it. This was
evidenced during the pad making training when some schools could try to operate
the sewing machines though a few schools didn’t know.
