Dr Nyanzi ready to work with government

Kampala. Makerere Research Fellow Stella Nyanzi, who was recently remanded to Luzira prison for insulting the President, has expressed readiness to work with government if it is willing to join the campaign codenamed #pads4GirlsUG to provide free sanitary pads to less privileged girls across the country.
While addressing journalists at Hotel Africana in Kampala yesterday, Dr Nyanzi revealed that if government gets serious and provides pads to the girls, she would stop using the alleged abusive words which, according to her, are metaphoric and together with her campaign mates, they would surrender and stop attacking the government on this issue.

Ready to collaborate
“If the President wakes up one day and he provides what he promised, I Stella Nyanzi, will give up this struggle, I will even enter into an agreement to collaboratively work with government for once and be proud of my government,” Dr Nyanzi said.
Dr Nyanzi added that her criticism and attacks on the government are only meant to act as a wakeup call to the government to fulfill and deliver all the pledges it makes to its citizens because people are tired of waiting and suffering.

“ It’s not my wish to attack government all the time, my quest is only to have the President give us the pads he promised us poor girls, I am now even called insane because of my pursuit for pads. All I want is government to notice that people are suffering and thus respond accordingly,” she said.
Dr Nyanzi added that the campaign to provide free pads is not about her but rather a citizen implemented movement aimed at providing sanitary pads to the less privileged girls who have continued to drop out of school because of menstrual-related issues and also break the widespread stigma, misconception and distortion of menstruation in Uganda.

About the pads campaign
The coordinator Pads for Girls Uganda, Ms Ruth Muganzi, while addressing journalists together with Dr Nyanzi yesterday, said a total of Shs33,563,500 has been collected from the campaign to solicit and provide free sanitary pads to the less privileged girls all over the country, which has so far lasted two months.
Ms Muganzi revealed that the money was collected through four fundraising channels, among them mobile money contributions (Shs9,326,000), Go fund me fundraising drive on the Internet (Shs19m) , direct cash donations from willing individuals (Shs4,573,000) and music concerts (Shs600,000).
Ms Muganzi added that the initial aim of the campaign was to collect one million sanitary pads of all kinds and despite reaching the target in just two months, they are now aiming at collecting funds for purchasing and distributing more 10 millions pads.

Ms Muganzi added that the campaign, which started on March 8, will run until March 8 next year, adding that the campaign has so far benefited and reached more than 3,000 girls in areas of Masaka, Mbale, Mukono, Kaliro and Ngora districts.
Dr Nyanzi said the one-year period will allow them as a movement to assess the achievements of the campaign and see how far they have reached with changing the lives of girls in Uganda.
While campaigning in Lango sub-region in 2015, President Museveni promised that if elected back into power, his government would provide school-going girls with sanitary pads.

However, in February, government backtracked on its earlier pledge, saying there is no money for the venture.
While appearing before the Parliament’s Education Committee, First Lady Janet Museveni, also the Education minister, revealed that it was not possible to fulfill the President’s pledge because the ministry did not have money to cater for it.
Early this month, junior Finance minister David Bahati said money for the pads shall be provided in the next financial year 2018/2019 budget.

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