Greetings to you all,

I hope you are well and for those who aren’t I wish you a quick and healthy recovery. 

Ahead of us, we have two exciting weeks because on 28th May 2022, the world will be celebrating Menstrual Health Hygiene and the theme of the year will be “Leave no girl behind”. This has always been our goal every year before the pandemic struck Mother Earth. We travelled across Uganda teaching and distributing reusable sanitary pads. I overheard on the radio that one of the goals and objectives this year will be distributing reusable sanitary towels to girls around Uganda to promote girls attending school. As I have benefited from this sensitization over the years, I hope boys and men will be included in supporting and promoting this venture. We are not alone in this struggle and this gives us a lot of comfort and courage to keep up the good fight. If we have the smallest ability, we should put ourselves to the little task of making this haven a better place for every single one of us. 

This week’s efforts included the following events and meetings. 

I travelled to Njeru, located next to one of the biggest towns in Uganda and the fabled source of the Nile. This is the home of React Now and Save Young Mothers (ReactNow), where I had gone to oversee the completion of the foundation of the organization. ReactNow closed about 3 years ago due to the pandemic. It used to be the home of vocational training for vulnerable girls and women, providing training in knitting, tailoring, mechanics and other related skills. The closure of this organization took away the much opportunity for local girls and women, and therefore their team leader took it upon himself to seek funding to construct the school again. It is a long road but as the Chinese say, a journey of 1000 miles starts with one step. 

They started construction about two months ago but it stalled when they ran out of funds but there was still an unfinished part. This week, I went down to Njeru to oversee the finishing of the slab cast over the foundation. Some of the bricks were starting to be washed away by the rains and so action was required. It is safe to report and say that as we speak now, the foundation is fully complete and they are now searching for more funding to erect the building itself. 

{ed note: Education4Her has generously contributed to the work Peter is doing. They decided that their intended project simply couldn’t be started anytime soon, mainly due to the pandemic, and so elected to donate towards this organization and their work. We applaud and honour these young social activists and their drive!}

One piece of good news comes from Rovence who for the first time became a grandmother. Her son and his wife gave birth to a baby boy a few months ago and on the day of my visit with her the baby boy had come to visit Rovence at her workplace. She was very excited to see him and just as I walked into the restaurant, she hurried to tell me, “Look at my grandchild”. 

Otherwise, the business has not yet fully picked up for her. I think generally, poverty levels have only continued to increase and affected the livelihoods of most Ugandans. The sad part is that the President had a state of the nation address this weekend and he provided no solution to the problem saying that he can’t reduce the taxes on anything so people have to find a way. 

Lorna K. is doing okay. She has decided to quit her volunteer position at an AIDS/HIV centre because of some poor managerial issues. She has now set her sights back on her business. The sad part about this is that Lorna is very good with the women and now the women are the ones who are truly going to miss out. 

Now she is back in business and the restaurant is doing well. I found her and her daughter Catherine washing dishes for the day to prepare for the next day. There have been a few problems with some neighbours and drunkards who attacked and beat up Cathy last week. Luckily, they were able to arrest the people who did it. 

Semmy S. is doing okay at the school. The school is fully open now after they lost one of its directors. Unfortunately, she has not resumed her soap-making business as her expected orders have not yet come through. She is going to have to wait until they come through before she starts making soap. 

Rashida S. is doing okay. I found her doing one of the classic jobs that mothers have done since time immemorial, plaiting her niece’s hair. Rashida took up 2 of her sister’s children, aged 18 months and 6 months, when their mother died. Rashida has fed, housed and educated them ever since.  

Rashida’s business is okay in terms of groceries and the market has so many vegetables but the prices have continued to increase. Petrol prices were 5400 last week and now they have increased to 5700 per litre. 

Justine is getting better after suffering a nerve infection last month. She is just a week away from completing the medication. She looks better, happier, and stronger. She has completely given up the deep frying business and now has adopted waist, wrist and neck beads. I find this safer and relaxing for her as she makes them in bulk and supplies to shops downtown. These beads are famous for babies and infants. This is a good venture for her. 

Aidah K. is also managing her situation. She uses two of the most hiked items on the market cooking oil and Irish potatoes in her business. The price of these two items has doubled in the last two months and Mamas in this field like Florence and Hadija all have been affected greatly. They have had to cut down on the quantities they make plus the portions they serve. This also affects the level of sales that make a day. Rovence testified that her customers have to decide whether to buy food or a snack because food portions have been reduced and the prices have also increased hence making it hard for customers to commit. 

Lilly A. had been busy these last few weeks with a couple of orders for table and pillow cloths. This business has made her happier and looks like she is enjoying her job. She has also managed to take both her kids to school and has remained with only her daughter who occasionally helps at the tailoring shop. 

Amina A. is pushing on and that’s all I have been asking for the last few weeks. Regardless of the hardship, she continued to push and the kids were back to school. The bananas are selling slowly but surely. 

Sadly, I received a call a few days ago from another Mama telling me that they robbed Amina’s home. They broke in and took a few items from her house and some of the documents for her children are lost because they used their bags to carry some of the things. 

It is extremely hard for her to retrieve the items but she reported the case to the authorities. This is not the first attempt for robbers to rob Amina as the first incident was by one of her nephews who had come to live with them for a little while. 

Lastly, Betty N. has been busy these last few days. She has been pushing and advertising some of the clothes she makes on her social media and WhatsApp status to try and get in more orders for wedding gowns and all sorts of African fabric designs. Her skill has developed immensely over the years and I have seen her work become more and more professional. This is very good for both the clothing business and also for her training section of the business. 

As this week goes by, I will be closely monitoring what activities are being prepared for World Menstrual Hygiene Day as it approaches. I look forward to seeing the places they have identified to reach out and maybe then we can also draw a map for our next engagement. I don’t know why I am excited about this but I am and I can’t wait. Just when we had begun these reproductive health clinics, I used to be fearful and almost embarrassed when we talked about them. I have grown over the last several years and I should say that I am one of the biggest advocates for reproductive health and menstrual hygiene. I believe in what we do and boldly share it with all my friends both men and women. 

Let’s keep supporting both women’s empowerment and menstrual hygiene. Let’s not leave any girl or woman behind as we progress this world one Mama and one girl at a time. I believe that we have created such an impact on the lives of these people. Thank you 

Report by;

Andrew Echel

Director of Programs, Uganda. 

ISEE Solutions Society.