【Educational Environment】 Monthly Report Feb 2023 "Pad making training and delivery of startup materials, Distribution of edited version of booklets and Monitoring"

 

Learners receive booklets at Jinja Kalori p/s

<Activities conducted>

1.     Pad making training and delivery of startup materials in the project schools in Mubende

2.     Distribution of edited version of booklets in the project schools

3.     Radio talk shows (Mubende and Butambala)

4.     Spot Messages to raise awareness on support for girls’ education and increase on reusable sanitary pad users

5.     Monitoring of the project schools

6.     Happy pad promotion centre (Wakiso and Butambala)

 

1.     Pad making training and delivery of startup materials in the project schools in Mubende

This was conducted on the 28/2/2023 to 2/3/2023 in the ten target schools. The school community including teachers, students and some community members benefited from the training in re-usable pad making. The students were mainly MHM club members of each school and other students from upper primary who were interested in the training.

 

2.     Distribution of edited version of booklets in the project schools

300 copies of edited version of booklets based on MOH’s feedback were hand delivered to the respective school staff in the 30 project schools in the three project districts. Each school received 10 copies of booklets; teachers were encouraged to use the booklet as a point of reference during MHM lessons without restricting learners from having access.

 

Mubende

 

Wakiso

 

Butambala

 

3.     Radio talk shows (Mubende and Butambala)

In Mubende, one hour radio talk show was conducted at Luna FM Kibalinga on 17/2/2023. Community members were reminded about the need to support adolescent girls especially those that cannot afford sanitary material so that they can comfortably stay at school. The major talking point was to inform the community about the pad making training and delivery of booklets in the project schools which would help pupils and teachers acquire more knowledge about reusable pads. This would help to address menstrual challenges in the community.

 

 

In Butambala, radio talk shows were conducted on 26 and 27/02/2023 at Voice of Butende. The team leader emphasized continuation of the MHM activities as schools reopened. He reminded the general public about the need to engage adolescents with accurate information at home and at school. He commended the teachers and parents who involved boys in the MHM related activities in the previous term and urged them to continue with the spirit. He further reminded the public about the opening of a Happy-pad promotion center in Ngando subcounty and encouraged interested persons to register and join the trainings. Girls were encouraged to open to their guardians and teachers in cases related to MHM and sexuality reproductive challenges they face. 

 

 

4.     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 10 times a day.

·      Butambala: 21 spot messages were aired at Voice of Kikambwe whereas 31 spot messages were aired at Voice of Butende. 

5.     Monitoring of the project schools in the respective districts

The objective of the activity was to check on the status of the hygiene in schools, awareness creation, MHM club and progress of the pad making. This was done with the aid of a monitoring tool that looked at different facilities of the schools and each of those had indicators to assess the current status. The facilities included; Administration, Washroom/changing room, Awareness raising activities, re-usable pad making activities, Remarks from the MHM club Girl and Boy members, Remarks from the woman and man teacher. The details of monitoring are in the monitoring report.

Ÿ   In Wakiso, monitoring took place from 21 to 28/02/2023 conducted by the Project Officer.

Ÿ   In Mubende, monitoring took place from 28/02 to 2/03/2023 conducted by the Project Manager and the Project Officer

Ÿ   In Butambala, monitoring took place on 26 and 27/02/2023 conducted by the project team

 

Wakiso

 

Butambala

 

Mubende

 

6.     Happy pad promotion centre (Wakiso and Butambala)

<Wakiso>

Ÿ   Visit of Mr. Sempala and Mr. Wagaba Emmanuel introduced by GBN at the promotion center

Ÿ   Purpose: To learn about pad making and find ways to market the pads

On 07/02/2023 Mr. Sempala and Mr. Emmanuel visited the Happy-pad promotion center at Katalemwa Secondary school to have a training on how to make reusable pads. Both knew how to operate the sewing machine so training only stopped at making the tracing paper, how to use the tracing paper to cut materials to use, the purpose of the materials, order of arrangement of the materials in the pads and lastly how to fix the buttons on the pads. We went as far as cutting one of the finished pads for them to see what is inside the pad and the arrangement of the materials.

  

There were no outsiders (None students) who attended the training for the month.

 

<Butambala>

There are 7 female and 2 male trainees that registered and are undertaking training on pad making. Trainees were not charged a fee since it was the first group since opening. Preparations for pad production are underway with the first batch expected by 3^rd week of March 2023. Product standards have been developed and are yet to be agreed upon. The team hired a permanent IT personnel, Ms. Christine Atala to manage activities of the Happy-pad promotion center. She will be responsible to advertise the center as well as recruiting trainee’s and managing production at the center.

Positive influence

·       Participants (learners, teachers and parents) were excited to learn how to make reusable pads (Mubende)

·       Boys participated attentively and were eager to learn more about pad making especially at Christ the King Primary School (Mubende)

·       Some of the students (Kabowa Primary School) had basic tailoring skills which made training easier (Mubende)

·       After the training and monitoring of schools, participants appreciated the support thanking SORAK and GBN for the initiative. (Mubende and Wakiso)

·       During the training in reusable sanitary pad making, samples of the pads were given to students for them to have a feel of their texture.  Students loved the texture of the pads in all schools. (Mubende)

·       Some schools like Kabowa had improvised material for reusable sanitary pad making and had made efforts to avail emergency pads to students. (Mubende)

·       At Katega Primary School one of the teachers acquired tailoring skills during holidays and she will be training the learners during pad making (Mubende)

·       At Gwanika Primary School, the sewing machine was being used for making uniforms during school holidays to cater for the monthly stipend of the tailor as they waited for the pad making training. (Mubende)

·       Listeners appreciated SORAK for the wonderful MHM information, pad making training to be conducted in schools and delivery of booklets. (Mubende)

 

Challenges

Ÿ  The number of trainees was high per session compared to the tools of work (Mubende and Wakiso)

Ÿ  Some students had not reported back to school due to failure to raise school fees and some waiting to get school requirements but their fellow students will take them through the process of making pads (Mubende)

Ÿ  Among the ten schools only one student at Kabowa primary school could operate the sewing machine and the rest needed serious training. (Mubende)

Ÿ  At some schools like Kasasa Primary School, the Head Teacher and the Senior man was transferred to another school whereas at Kiyita Primary School the Senior Woman Teacher was transferred to another school. All these had just been replaced and were slowly picking momentum of taking on the responsibility of Menstrual Hygiene Management issues. (Mubende)

Ÿ  Students turn up at school opening was poor in the first 2 weeks causing delays in some project activities like school monitoring.

Ÿ  Poor communication of project progress when project manager went for leave. (Butambala)

Ÿ  MHM club members who sat primary leaving exams left the school which called for selection of new MHM Club members at some schools.

 

Lessons Learnt

·       We should continue to encourage participation of the boys and male adults.

·       To attract more learners at the Promotion center, training should be free for the first 3 months while community adverts should be prioritized. (Butambala)

·       Target schools are continuing to practice better MHM depending on what was observed during the monitoring. Hygiene has greatly improved.

·       MHM club should be composed of more pupils from lower classes than in P7. There must be a succession plan for pupil who leave the school for good.

·       More follow up is required to promote pad production in schools for Butambala, Wakiso and Mubende (all districts)

 

Recommendations

·       We should standardize the pads. That is having a consistent shape of the pad, different sizes because people are not of the same size. We should also add details of the sizes in the package bag such that people get what they want with ease. (Wakiso)

·       For sustainability, the center should be open to all people interested in getting skills in tailoring not only those interested in pad making because this is what other organizations are doing otherwise with the way we are struggling to sell the pads the center may only survive with funding from GBN. During this project period, we  focus on pad making first to address menstrual hygiene challenges in schools(Wakiso)

·       As SORAK team we need to find the actual cost of pads and this will inform us on how to establish the price of our pad otherwise those on the market like So sure are much cheaper at shs.7,200 and shs.8,400 for a pair of small and large size respectively (Wakiso)

·       More marketing of pads needed and we should make use of social media platforms. (Wakiso)

 

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*This project is implemented under JICA's Kusanone Partnership Program.

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【Educational Environment】 Monthly Report Jan 2023 "Preparing new opening promotion Center in Butambala, Online Training"

 

Promotion center premises in Butambala district

<Activities conducted>

1.     Radio talk show in Mubende

2.     Air Spot Messages to raise awareness on support for girls’ education and increase on reusable sanitary pad users in all the 3 target districts

3.     Happy pad promotion Centre in Wakiso

4.     Follow up on the two project schools in Mubende (Kiyita and Christ the King) to check on the progress of their unfinished facilities including washroom and toilet

5.     Preparing new opening promotion Center in Butambala

6.     Online Training in Butambala

 

1.       Radio talk show in Mubende

One hour radio talk show was conducted at Luna FM in Kibalinga, Mubende on 19/01/2023. Community members were reminded about the need to support adolescent girls especially those that cannot afford sanitary material so that they can comfortably stay at school. The major talking point was how to ensure a friendly MHM environment both at home and at school since schools are resuming soon. The talk show took place in the presence of the Youth Councilor Kibalinga who appreciated SORAK for the great work towards empowering the girl child to keep in school through addressing menstrual changes.

 

 

2.       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 10 times a day.

·     Butambala, 11 spot messages were aired at Voice of Kikambwe and 10 aired at Voice of Butende. 

 

3.       Happy pad promotion Centre in Wakiso

The four girls that were enrolled in December kept at the pad Centre until 20^th January 2023 when they finished their training in reusable sanitary pad making. They were so happy because they had benefited from the training as they were able to make reusable sanitary pads at the end of the training.

No extra pads were produced however the team at the Centre carried out marketing of the Happy pads by moving door to door in the households around the promotion Centre. 

 

4.       Follow up on the two project schools in Mubende (Kiyita and Christ the King) to check on the progress of their un finished facilities.

 

The project officer through making phone calls since all target schools were still in holidays to the two project schools including Kiyita and Christ the King, in Mubende to check on the progress of the facilities, was informed by the Headteachers that facilities will be completed by the end of term (late Next April) one after raising some funds from the parents. Therefore, the situation is still the same until schools’ resume.

 

 

 

5.       Preparing new promotion Center in Butambala

The team secured premises for the promotion center and hired two trainers (1 male and 1 female) who will conduct the training and production of happy pads at the center.

Registration of trainees started on the 24^th of Jan 2023. 8 female and 2 male trainees were registered as the process continues to receive more participants from the community.

 

6.   Online Training in Butambala

 

1) Video Demonstration on How to Make a Reusable Pad in Butambala

The VOTU team shot a 20 minutes video demonstrating how to make reusable pads. In this video, we explained the tools and materials needed to make reusable sanitary pads, the measurements using a sketch and cutting out on fabric. The instructors took us through the entire process from start to end. (see ‘Feedback of online sessions’ as References)

 

 

2) Conducted two Online sessions

Two online sessions were held to discuss the challenges faced by girls during menstruation in Uganda on the session one 21/01/2023 and also to demonstrate how to make reusable sanitary pads on the session two on 22/01/2023. Each session took 2 hours.

General Attendance:49 participants (30 female, 19 male) attended session one, while 39 participants (23 female, 16 male) attended session two. Participants represented 25 different civil society organization from Uganda and Pakistan.

Session One (On 21/01/2023 at 11:00am (Uganda Time)):

The team had an open online discussion about challenges menstruating girls face in the different areas of Uganda and other countries. The team used a participatory approach to engage participants. There were shared experiences from Iganga, Wakiso, and Mukono districts of Uganda as well as from Pakistan.

Some of the key issues addressed included; lack of MHM information among the girls and general communities, the myths/taboos that still exist, low male participation, lack of sanitary products and facilities in schools, low inclusion of people with disabilities in MHM interventions. This indicated that the challenges we are trying to solve in the project areas of Butambala, Mubende and Wakiso are far reaching even in other areas. The team further discussed the project interventions and activities to mitigate the challenges above since inception.  

Session Two (On 22/01/2023 at 3:00pm (Uganda Time)):

The team opened a discussion about period poverty and the interventions to address it. Effects of period poverty were discussed which included; infections resulting from unhygienic options used due to lack of pads, sex trade and exploitation of girls in exchange of sanitary products, girls dropping out of school, stigma etc.

Reusable sanitary pad concept was introduced as participants’ knowledge about reusable sanitary pads was assessed using open questions. SORAK staff explained the advantages of using reusable pads, how to use them and handling them for proper hygiene. She also explained the activities at Happy-pad promotion center in Wakiso.

A recorded video demonstrating how to make reusable pads was played for the participants to learn. Each session ended with a question and answer where participants reacted. Feedback forms were also sent to the participants at the end of each session.

 

Positive influence

·       During the radio talk show at Luna FM Kibalinga, the Youth Councilor Kibalinga participated and appreciated the initiative of ensuring that girls are kept in schools. He promised to work with SORAK to conduct community sensitization regarding MHM, gender equality and Sexual Reproductive Health issues. (Mubende)

·       Regarding Online sessions (Butambala)

Ø Presented opportunities of new partnerships with other organizations. 25 organizations were represented. The participatory approach was effective as participants actively responded to the questions and shared their own experience.

Ø The team learnt several lessons from the participants e.g., the issue of certifying happy pad at the UNBS[1] as mentioned by a Ministry of Health officer, inclusion of People with Disabilities (PWDs) as stated by a representative of Girls With a vision Uganda in Iganga district, considering a padded-pant to cater for those that can’t afford underwear as stated by JENA Women Empowerment Initiative.

Ø Majority of the participants attended up to the end of each session.

Ø SORAK team greatly benefited from the online training prepared by VOTU team and realized that such trainings are so crucial during project implementation. Learnt a lot of experiences from the participants which SORAK will also apply during implementation. (Mubende and Wakiso)

·       Ebola outbreak that had affected most of the activities was fought and the environment now free from the pandemic which will make implementation of activities successful. (Mubende)

·       Listeners appreciated team for the wonderful information shared about MHM during the radio talk show and thanked their leader representing them at the radio. This was evidenced by the number of calls made during the talk show as they requested for more talk shows that provide them with information related on MHM issues. (Mubende)

Challenges

·       Network connectivity failed at some point during the online presentation. Some participants claimed they waited for long before they were logged into the session. (Butambala)

·       Marketing of the pads is still a challenge but the team has tried and still trying its best to make some sales by moving door to door. (Wakiso Promotion Center)

·      Schools were in a holiday season and all school related activities were not conducted though these will be implemented when schools resume.

·       Uncertainty about the existence of the promotion centre after some of the equipment like some furniture being shifted to Butambala bothered the team especially the tailor at the centre but managed to make use of the available equipment. (Wakiso Promotion Center)

·       Each session took 2 hours hence expensive in terms of internet for the participants some of whom didn’t attend the second session. (Butambala)

·       Project beneficiaries (teachers) luck smart gadgets and internet thus couldn’t attend sessions (Butambala and Mubende)

Recommendations

·      Standardization of the happy pad is highly needed for both quality and size. (Wakiso and Butambala)

·      Prepare for anyone who needs training about pad making any time from now. (Wakiso and Butambala)

Lessons Learnt

·     Online sessions are effective when participants are well engaged. Open discussions kept the participants interested.

·     We should cater for the needs of people with disabilities.

·     The design of the reusable pad should be made with the right standard to cater for comfort.

·     Some participants of online sessions preferred physical demonstration on how to make pads. They were invited to the pad promotion centers. (Wakiso and Butambala)

·     MHM challenges in the project areas are similar in many parts of the country.

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*This project is implemented under JICA's Kusanone Partnership Program.

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