A recent report by NTV Uganda showed that about 80% of women and girls in the region of Kamyokya couldn’t afford sanitary towels, and had resorted to using unhygienic rags and old newspapers.
This is only a small fraction of the problem that is wide spread across the nations. And in some rural parts of the country, girls have been known to stay home, during that time of their menstruation cycle, because of lack of sanitary towels.
So, for Ugandan Supermodel, Akello Patricia, addressing this issue has been a core goal of hers through Dignity for a Girl Child, a community-based initiative.
This past weekend, the model, together with members of her team visited the Atang Primary School, in Pader District, where they made a donation of the reusable sanitary pads to over 30 school girls.
The girls were also given a demonstration session on how to use the sanitary towels, and educated on personal hygiene as well as career guidance.
While speaking at the handover ceremony, Akello pointed out that a girl missing four days a month out of her school days because of her period is something that shouldn’t still be happening in this day and time.
‘We can only create equal opportunities for our girls, if they are not having to miss out on school, because of something as small as menstrual periods,’ she stated.
The New York based model started the community-based initiative, together with her older sister Brenda Atim Lakey in 2019, with the goal to promote health awareness and illness prevention through health talks, education and sensitization within the schools and communities.
