(This article was first published in the New Vision on September 21, 2022)
By Juliet Waiswa
Fourteen-year-old Alice Kwagala (not real name) did not attend school nine days last term because she was menstruating. This translates to three days per month over the three-month term.
Salam School for the Blind, which this visually impaired girl attends, had dilapidated pit latrines and lacked running water.
So, Kwagala and her 37 visually impaired female peers at the school located in Ntenjeru, Mukono district, could not change sanitary pads and bathe in privacy.
“For fear of being mocked by boys, I stayed in the dormitory, while my peers were in class because the sanitary facilities were dirty and did not have water,”Kwagala said.
“Our former pit latrines were not separated from those of the boys, so we shared them,” she added.
But this has changed. The latrines have been replaced with flush toilets, which include a room, where girls change sanitary pads, a rainwater harvesting tank, taps and sinks.
A Source Of Relief
The construction of the toilets was funded by the Rotary Club of Kampala Maisha, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Frankfurt Stadel in Germany.
“I will not miss classes again because the new toilets have a handwashing area and a room for changing sanitary pads with privacy. Our section is separated from the one for boys,” Kwagala said.
Diana Mukabazi, the school’s matron, said sanitary facilities are vital to visually impaired menstruating girls as they do not realise when their clothes get soiled by menstrual blood at the school which has 37 boys.
“I assist the girls to change pads, but that was not easy to do when we had the pit latrines and bathrooms which they shared with boys. It has been tough for these girls,” she said.
Francis Kinubi, the headteacher, said the toilets are a source of relief for the girls, who used to queue up outside the pit latrines.
“Managing menstrual cycles was difficult because some of the girls come to school without sanitary materials,” he said.
Esther Ochola, the headteacher of St Mary’s Terere Primary School in Mukono district, where the two rotary clubs have also menstruating girls stayed away from school because of poor sanitary facilities.
Gerald Ssali, the district inspector of schools, added that several schools in the area do not have proper sanitary facilities, which has forced some girls to drop out.
More Projects Underway
Robert Odedo, the past president of Rotary Kampala Maisha, said they intend to build similar facilities in four other government-aided schools in Mukono.The project is estimated to cost $230,000 (sh877m).
Many women and girls do not manage their menstrual cycles in a dignified and healthy manner due to lack of basic services such as toilets and sanitary products, among others. This is according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. The agency says this affects school attendance and participation in community life.
