Group hikes mountains to promote menstrual hygiene in Karamoja

Women who went on a two-day hiking exercise sensitised the neighbouring communities to support girls and women and gave sanitary pads to girls of  Moroto Municipal School. PHOTO/Zadock Amanyisa. 

What you need to know:

On Friday last week, a team of 60 people from more than 20 organisations in Uganda, went on a two-day hiking exercise on Mt Moroto in commemoration of the International Menstrual Health and Management Day (May 28) to increase awareness on breaking the stigma around menstruation.

Menstruation management has for long presented challenges to girls and women in Uganda due to the taboos attached to it.

In low income settings such as Kigezi region, Rwenzori region and Karamoja, menstrual hygiene accounts for the biggest percentage of absenteeism among girls in schools.

It is against this background that a group of activists have taken it upon themselves to do mountain hiking to change the status quo.

Hope Nankunda, a team leader at Raising Teenagers Uganda, says the campaign was launched in 2017 and they have since purposed to convene to commemorate the unique challenges faced by women and girls during menstruation and lay strategies to support them.

Change agents

In 2017, the group hiked Mount Muhabura in Kigezi, in 2018 they took to Wanale hill in eastern Uganda and in 2019, and they went to Rwenzori in western Uganda. Although they missed hiking last year due to Covid-19, Nankunda says numbers of participants have since increased.

On Friday last week, a team of 60 people from more than 20 organisations in Uganda, went on a two-day hiking exercise on Mt Moroto in commemoration of the International Menstrual Health and Management Day (28th May 2021) to increase awareness on breaking the stigma around menstruation. After paying 300,000 per head, each participant hiked Moroto about 10,115 feet of Mount Moroto. The money was used to purchase sanitary towels, cater for transport, accommodation and meals for the unprivileged girls at Moroto Municipal School.

The team wanted girls in Karamoja to access pads to enable them to stay in school and continue learning, according to Nankunda.

“We organised this hiking event to raise funds to procure pads for girls who cannot afford them in Karamoja region. There is a challenge of poor menstrual health caused by lack of proper menstrual products such as pads for girls,” says Nankunda.

The challenge, Nankunda says, forced girls to miss and drop out of school, lose self- esteem and some girls got sexually harassed by men in their search for money to buy pads,  making them susceptible to sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancies and child marriages.

What they do

“Our campaign supported more than 200 girls at Moroto Municipal School with reusable sanitary pads. We also offered menstrual hygiene management information to students and teachers. We are optimistic that the students and teachers shall adopt good menstrual management practices after this intervention,” Nankunda says.

Whenever they go to hike the mountain, the group meets parents and local leaders, and sensitises them about keeping girls in school, the dangers of teen marriages.

“We want these communities to know that menstruation should not be a stumbling block to education for girls. These are issues that many people are not comfortable talking about. But we must talk about them and support girls to stay in school,” she adds.

During the event, hikers share experiences with the young girls and career guidance talks to support girls to reach their full potential.

Peace Namayanja, an activist, who is part of the group says through sharing of experiences, myths are debunked and communities are cautioned against stigmatising menstruating girls and encouraged to change their mindset and begin to support the girl-child.

Hiking to raise funds

 “Each year, we challenge ourselves to hike a given mountain. We want to share our stories, experiences, the pain and challenges that girls in that region go through. In many communities across the country, girls and women cannot afford to buy pads, but this does not stop them from menstruating every month,” she explains.

Namayanja says the group sensitises communities to support girls and women, provides them with sanitary pads for two years and teaches women how to make their own pads.

“I feel excited about the fact that people are willing to pay any amount to be part of this programme. We have people who have been part of us since 2017 and this year, we had more people joining us,” she expresses

Challenges

Whether on a hill or a mountain, hiking is never an easy adventure, especially for the physically unfit bodies. Hiking comes with potential challenges such as weather changes, high altitude, physical fatigue, and dehydration.

The ability to climb depends on one’s experience. Due to this, some hikers find it difficult to reach the summit.

Future plans

The group is seeking corporate organisations and individuals to support girls to stay in school.

“We need more sponsors to reach out to all girls in different districts to learn about menstrual hygiene and management. You do not have to support your relatives only. Other Ugandans too need help,” Nankunda explains.

The group plans to hold another event in 2022 and continue spearheading conversations on menstrual health management through different programmes, advocacies and partnerships with different stakeholders such as civil society organisations, media, girls, parents, men, legislators, among others.