Reusable Menstrual Pads

PROJECT KONY LUTINO ANYIRA WA

By

TEAM AMITO

Providing Training on how to make reusable menstrual pads using old clothes and mentorship on vices to young girls, boys, parents and teachers in Lamwo and Apac district.

This will be conducted in a few pilot schools in the two districts

TEAM AMITO:

Contents

Introduction. 3

Background. 4

Problem Statement. 5

Main Objective. 6

Scope. 6

Significance. 6

Methodology. 6

Conclusion. 7

Appendices. 7

Introduction

Menstrual cycles are a normal process that occurs for a period every month to girls from puberty to the age of 45-50years.This normal yet sensitive process if not clearly dealt with can cause discomfort and a lot of stress. This process comes with various effects varying from one girl to the other ranging from stomach aches, headaches and most common is discharge of blood.  The process can be very shameful and have dire consequences if one can’t afford the necessary protection to the blood flow such as sanitary towels and tampons.

Background

Uganda’s economy is predominantly agrarian. Agriculture contributes about 40% of the Gross s Domestic Product (GDP) and is the main source of livelihood and employment for over 80 percent

Northern Uganda in particular has been ravaged by war from 1986 and a decade on the effects of the war still lingers on. I say till now because this war has not ended and for 28 years the people of northern Uganda have been tormented and traumatized. During the war a lot of people were displaced, forced into camps leaving their home, property, education and livelihood behind, regularly these camps would be attacked and looted, hundreds of children forced to commit atrocities or to take up arms. Notably to note is that 90% of the population of northern Uganda especially in the Acholi Sub Region are traumatized community that need a lot of help to rehabilitate them,

After the war the people returned to villages from their camps, two generations of children of those displaced from the war, most have been left without adequate education, resources and tools required to rebuild their communities. The devastated region has suffered a lot of short comings in terms of human development and social amenities like infrastructure and lags behind the rest of the country and very little has been done to address this issue as quite a sufficient number of people living in this area still live below the poverty line and till this day bad vices like child marriage, alcoholism, early pregnancies, fornication and this coupled with high poverty rates has really brought down education levels in the region especially the girl child since parents would rather the boys study and the girls get married.

Research has shown that the most vulnerable sex during such times are the female child as usually their rights are violated, abused and sometimes they face many challenges. Among the challenges faced by the female child in this region is a basic right which is access to proper sanitation especially during their monthly menstrual cycle.

Menstrual cycle in girls usually starts in a woman life from ages of 12 to 15 years depending on the individual. This discharge is composed of blood, tissue fluid as we as parts of the uterine lining called the endometrium. This is a normal process in any fertile female and usually lasts for 4 to 5 days from the onset of puberty till menopause.

Menstrual hygiene is the effective management of menstrual bleeding by women and girls and is an important part of female reproductive health which if not handled properly can lead to infections of the urinary tract, pelvic inflammation diseases and vaginal thrush as well as bad odor, transmission of infectious diseases that can be transmitted via contact with body fluid like blood such as HIV & hepatitis B and ultimately shame among peers, leading to infringement on the girls dignity.

A standard sanitary pad costs 2500 Ugandan shillings, but due to the high level of poverty in these areas proper menstrual hygiene methods such as use of sanitary pads cannot be afforded as well on monthly basis throughout the cycle. And therefore resort to the use of improper absorbent materials such as rags and toilet paper which can harbor various infectious agents.

The reality we have now is that even girls that really want to study and change their lives can’t afford sanitary towels and this has affected their education because of fear of public embarrassment, poor hygiene and uncomfortableness during that period while in class.

These girls miss up to one week a month leading up to 20 out of 80 school days which is about 25% of the classes in a school term. This causes them to miss out on important lectures which has a negative outcome on their academic performance at the end of the academic year.

An article published online in one of the local newspapers the daily monitor (http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Girls-petition-parliament-pads/-/688334/2809816/-/yp71t2z/-/index.html ) talked about a petition to the Ugandan parliament by 1200 girls in Tororo schools. These girls were assisted to bring their petition to parliament by Ms Idah Nabunnya an official of an NGO in the country. The article narrates how these girls go through bullying and ridicule by peers of opposite sex which affects their self-esteem and confidence forcing them to opt out of class or sports activities as usually the padding is not usually sufficient and stain their dresses. They have demanded through the ministry of education a supply of sanitary pad and pain killers to be distributed throughout their school in order to improve their sanitary health management.

Therefore, with the few expert, there is need to develop a system that is cheaper, easy to use and easily accessible to all girls in the rural areas that can’t afford the luxuries that can be used to help these girls during these periods so that they have time to go to class and enable these girls to reach their full potential and become useful members of their communities than perish away in the bad vices eating up our rural areas.

Problem Statement

Poverty in the rural areas has played a big role in foiling the girl child education even the few who want to study are hit by a snag since they can’t afford the normal conventional methods during their menstrual cycles. Furthermore menstrual hygiene is an issue that should be addressed as part of a female’s reproductive health education as well as the physical and psychological changes that that accompanies puberty as well as coming of age. In the rural areas female reproductive health education is not mentioned publicly especially the issue of female menstruation and hygiene as it is

Girls are forced to stay home to avoid embarrassment and this in turn cuts 25% of their class days per term.

Interviews

I was travelling with my little sisters of about 18 years and below to the village since we had spent most of our lives in Kampala, so as we moved in the village she saw girls younger than us with children.

I was shocked because for all the days we stayed there we basically did not see girls but child mothers and then reality hit me that we should talk to these people so we moved according to whoever was willing to speak to us and found the harsh truth behind the effects of the LRA war.

The war left people in poverty and a lot of vices have creeped in to the extent that children and their parents can be found drinking and smoking together showing a breakdown in elder/parent children relationship. I talked to my mother and she said the war has destroyed all the Acholi cultural values. In their times children had respect and the responsibility of training a child belonged to everybody, Now children do what they want, the parents also have lost their moral values and coupled with poverty they need a lot of help and prayers, This all came about because the generation that lived in the camp got to know that everything is supplied on the truck by NGO. And when the war ended most if not all the children born during the camp grew with the mentality of things being given to them. We don’t blame them we blame it on the many years of war.

Most girls ended up as orphans who find it difficult to care for themselves and those with parents their families can’t afford to take the children to school and let alone buy sanitary towels for their girls in turn this has made life for our little sisters hell.

One girl called Akello narrated how she one day when attending her UPE (universal primary school) got the embarrassment of her life since she was using old rudimentary methods to protect her flow. The material fall down as she was entering class and the next thing she knew all boys were laughing and making fun of her, the trauma continued until she had to change school.

NGO, governments and cultural institutions need to come to help the people of Northern Uganda to reconstruct their lives and go back to the original Cultural values like before the war,

There is no meaning full activity in the villages so most time the youth are occupied with basically nonproductive activity, thus resorting to drinking, etc.

Therefore I and my sisters decided to write this project and look for funds so that we can help this young girls in the villages. YES WE CAN WITH YOUR HELP.

We interviewed a few of these young girls and discovered that something must be done to give a little ray of hope to these people.

We are seeking assistance to help these people as we have ear marked some few ways that are listed down in chapters to come.

Main Objective

To introduce and train a pilot group of girls in a few schools on reusable sanitary pads.

Specific Objectives

To train the girls, a few teachers and parents on how to make reusable sanitary pads from old clothing.

To provide the needed equipment like sewing machines threads and others materials.

To create awareness on the importance and advantages of maintaining proper menstrual hygiene

To give career guidance and mentorship to these girls and parents about the dangers of alcoholism, child marriage and fornication.

Scope

The project is going to be centered on a few pilot schools in Lamwo and Apac district from where girls will be trained on how to make their own reusable sanitary towel. And for continuity they will now be able to make their own with the help of the sowing machine that will be provided in each of those pilot school in the two district.

Significance

This project is to benefit the girls, teachers and parents in the rural areas of Lamwo and Apac district. The training methods and mentorship availed to these girls will reduce the stigma and embarrassment these girls shall face while at school during this sensitive period.

This will also reduce the classes missed by these girls by almost 90% since they will have the means to protect themselves.

The training will provide cheap alternative from home material, which means this alternative won’t affect their funds And would serve as a permanent solution to the challenges these girls are facing in maintaining proper menstrual hygiene as the forms of sanitary pads they would make would be from used clothes and also can be reused over a period of times.

Methodology

We are seeking assistance to help these girls in the following way with mobilizing a small team consisting of;

• A team of concerned girls (peers) from Kampala who felt the pain and the challenges these young girl in the villages go through during menstrual periods. They will speak to these girls about hygiene during the menstrual cycles and how they can stay focused on studies and avoid falling victims of early pregnancies and early marriages.
• Concerned Mothers form Kampala who will also talk to the parents on how to teach the young girls about menstrual cycles, Hygiene and how to monitor their progress in school and help them from falling victims of the bad vices.
• Mentors in respective fields (alcoholism, public health etc.) will address the community in the  area where the pilot schools are chosen from
• Mentors from the concerned NGO who will provide training and sowing machine to the pilot schools will also address the community and the youth about .

NB If funds could be secured a youth center should be built in each of this district where youth will always converge to discuss developmental project and get training, they can have drama. Music festivals etc. This will help the youth develop their talents than spending all their free time drinking.

We are planning to have a few activities in place such as

• Training the girls on how to make reusable pads from old clothing material.
• Concerned mothers will advise fellow mothers in the community how to handle the girl child how to monitor their progress
• Train at least one senior lady in each school that will advise and support the girls during their cycle and give them guidance in how to maintain proper menstrual hygiene.
• Train the girls on how to use and maintain these reusable pads.
• Have public speaking mentorship to talk about the dangers of alcoholism in school
• Talk to the parents the importance of educations and how they can monitor their children performances
• Talk to the teachers about the importance of playing their roles as teachers and teaching these children without missing school and leading by Example.
• Donate to each of these pilot schools a sewing machine that will help them to sow the reusable sanitary pads
• Train one dedicated person in each of this pilot school who will take charge of the sewing machine.
• Have talk show on Radio on the dangers of alcoholism, early marriages and unwanted pregnancies

PROCEDURE

As obtained from <http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/sanitarypads.htm>

Outer Pad with Wings
Cut 2 with flap extended & 1 on fold with flap closed

Inner Pad
Cut 2 of flannel and 1 or 2 of filling or more flannel

Printing Instructions: Set Margins to 0.25 or 1/4 inch each.
To make your own sanitary napkins you need the following supplies:

• A sewing machine with a zigzag stitch.
• Flannel:  Old flannel shirts & baby blankets work beautifully but new flannel works fine too.  Be sure to wash it in hot water before using to prevent shrinkage.
• Thread
  • Snaps or Safety Pins
  • Scissors

The Outer Pad
Begin by printing both of the patterns and cutting them out. The Inner Pad is a large oval.  The Outer Pad is actually 2 patterns in 1.  With the long straight side extended, it is the topside.  You will need to cut 2 of these.  With the long straight side folded in, it is the bottom side.  Place the straight edge on a fold of fabric and cut 1 of these. Look at the pictures for examples. 
Make 1/2-inch hem down the long straight side of each of the 2 top pieces.  Straight stitch or zigzag stitch this hem, as you prefer.  Now arrange the 2 upper layers of the outer pad over the lower layer.  The front hems should overlap slightly, or by about 1/2-inch.
Zigzag stitch around the outside twice.  If desired you may straight stitch down the dotted lines shown on the picture to the right.  This allows the inner pad to fit more securely inside the outer pad and also makes folding the wings a bit handier.
Some women apply a snap or button to the wings at this time.  Place them at points “A” in the illustration.  Velcro is not advisable because it has a tendency to chafe.  Personally, I don’t like to go through all the work of applying snaps or buttons so I use a safety pin instead.  Large diaper safety pins work beautifully for pinning the wings together.  To the right you will see a picture of the pad pinned closed.   The wings fit around your underwear just like disposable pads with wings.  Some women wear the pad with the pocket seam facing down, next to their underwear.  Other women prefer the pad placed with the seam-side next to their skin.  Try it both ways to see which you prefer.

The Inner Pad
The inner pad is the absorbent part of the sanitary napkin.  It slips inside the pocket of the pad.  The beauty of this is that you can use as many inner pads as necessary for the rate of your flow.  During heavy times, or overnight, use 3 or 4 Inner pads.  For a lighter flow use only 1 Inner pad.  For a panty liner, use the outer pad without an inner pad.  The reason you use several layers instead of 1 very thick layer is because several thinner layers are easier to wash and have a shorter drying time.  Additionally, the many exterior surfaces of the pad layers makes them more absorbent than a single thick pad would be.

For the inner pad you want to cut at least 3 layers, maybe 4, depending on the thickness of your fabric.  Use the same pattern for all of the layers.  Use flannel for the 2 exterior layers of the inner pad.  Use 1 or 2 layers of flannel or terry cloth, cotton quilt batting or another absorbent material for the interior layers of the inner pad.  I used old flannel shirts, a flannel baby blanket and an old towel for my fabric.  The towel was ripped and had a few holes.  I used it as the interior layer of my inner pads.  The flannel baby blanket was the exterior of the inner pads, and the flannel shirt was the outer pad, the part with wings.
After cutting out your layers for the inner pad stack them neatly.  Zigzag stitch around the edges twice.  Trim the edges if desired.  I used dark thread in the picture so you could see it against the light flannel.  Make 2 of these inner pads for each outer pad.  They are very easy to cut and stitch, so you may want to make a few extras for heavy days.
After completing each part of the pad, slip the inner pad inside the pocket of the outer pad.  Pin it in place and see how it feels.  You will be surprised at how comfortable it is.

Washing and Maintenance
when you make your own pads you have to wash them instead of tossing them into the garbage.  Keep a small bucket of water with a lid in the bathroom, preferably out of the reach of children and pets.  Add a spoonful of vinegar if desired.  Remove the inner pad from the outer pad.  Soak the used pads in the bucket of water.  Drain the water into the toilet before washing the pads.  The water can also be used to water house plants because they like all the extra vitamins and minerals. Make sure you use cold water so that the stains will come out.  I wash every morning.  Some women stash all of the used pads in a pillowcase or plastic bag and wash them all at once when their period is over.  I don’t do this because I have a washer in the house and I find it more sanitary to wash them every day.  They can drip dry or machine dry.

If you do not have a washing machine, then they may be washed by hand.  Run cold water over them in the bathtub to remove most of the blood.  Place the pads in a medium bucket or tub.  Add a little soap and cold water.  Using a clean plunger, plunge the pads until they are as clean as you can get them.  Plunge for a good 10 minutes for the best results.  Rinse the pads well and squeeze them dry.  Hang each pad by its own clothespin and they should dry pretty fast, even in the winter.

If you like, you can iron the pads, but do not use starch on them.  Be careful not to use fabric softener either because it will make them less absorbent.

A No-Sew Alternative
if your sewing skills are lacking, or you simply do not want to go through the trouble of sewing your own pads you can try this instead.  Purchase absorbent terry-cloth dishtowels.  Wash them before using.  Fold them into rectangles about 3 or 4-inches by 10 or 12 inches.  Use safety pins to pin them into your underwear at both narrow ends (the front and the back).  These are a bit bulkier than home-sewn pads.  They are quite comfortable though, and are a legitimate alternative.  They may be washed the same as home-sewn pads.  I’ve also seen washcloths recommended.  Fold them into thirds, or quarters (long ways) and fit them into your underwear.  Apparently they stay in place without pinning because of the friction between the terry-cloth and underwear.  For heavier flows fold together 2 or more wash cloths.

About Fabrics
when these fabrics were made, I used fabrics I already had in the house.  You may purchase new fabric instead if you like.  Use a sturdy double-napped flannel if you go this route.  It will last the longest and give you the best results.  Cotton quilt batting is very nice filler, but you can also use additional flannel, which is less expensive. Wash everything before cutting or sewing.  Flannel will shrink.  After sewing, wash the pads again before using.  This helps them hold their shape better.  Men’s flannel shirts and flannel baby blankets make excellent flannel for your own menstrual pads.  They can sometimes be found for 25¢ or 50¢ a piece at yard sales, which makes pads very cheap to sew at home.   Brightly colored fabric is less likely to show stains than solid colored or light fabric is.  I prefer to use patterns and dark colors for this reason.

About the Pattern
I created this pattern free hand after measuring commercially available, disposable pads.  My pattern is a little bit wider and longer than some patterns available on the Internet.  This is to accommodate the average woman, who is a size 14 or larger.  Standard pads and liners are created for a size-6 woman.  Pads made from this pattern are less likely to leak because they are large enough to fit properly.  If you are a smaller woman, or prefer slightly smaller pads, there are several other patterns available online.  You will find them linked below.

 As obtained from <http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/sanitarypads.htm>

Conclusion

I would love to thank you for reading through this proposal and will assure you if it’s considered we shall be doing a lot of good job to change the life of both the girls child the boys ,the parents and the teachers.

.

In this world we don’t need to make a big splash to make a difference even the smallest of splashes can help bring happiness and a ray of hope to the hopeless.

We are asking you to help join us in any way you can to make the lives of these people a little better.

   Appendices

Appendix A: Budget

I have drafted a simple budget to suggest a few things we need facilitation on to make this small dream a reality and would argue you to get involved.

   BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Lamwo district

The lamwo district has 7 schools, the budget stated below includes all the schools listed above

Total

                                                                                                                                                                     24,560,000

Apac district

The Apac district has 6 schools, the budget stated below includes all the schools listed above to be covered

Resource availability

The following resources are available:

• 8 volunteers

The following resources are required:

• Transportation from Kampala to district and around schools
• Fuel for hired vehicle from Kampala to Lamwo district and around various schools in the district
• Sewing machines
• Sewing threads
• Scissors
• Subsistence
• Feeding during the duration
• Video Coverage
• Accommodation for concerned youths
• Accommodation for concerned parents
• Rows of clothing Materials to be used as startup
• Radio advertisement
• Expert training fee

Activities