She for She Activities
Currently all reusable pads from She for She are produced by Ugandan women in Kampala, and from the Ugandan village Mateete. She for She collaborates with the organization GIRL CHILD ADVOCACY INITIATIVE, which is an organization that, among other things, teaches women how to operate sewing machines. Through this collaboration we will be able to create and offer jobs to the women the organization as empowerment is at the core of our objective. The women then receive neccesary training and obtain skills in order to produce our reusable pads and are able to sustain their families through the work.
The reason why our target group is women is due to their role in their household seeing as they’re financially responsible for the whole family. Thus, our focus is on empowering these women through employment.
In addition to offering reusable pads, She for She also works directly with schoolgirls and boys. She for She teaches schoolgirls and boys about menstruation and menstrual hygiene through sustainable opportunities and empowerment. The purpose for teaching girls menstrual health is for them to understand their bodies and menstruation as well as understand how to handle their menstruation hygienically so that they can stay healthy and go to school. The purpose of involving the boys is to break the taboo of menstruation and as such it is important that the schoolboys also understand what menstruation is and what it truly means in practice when a girl has her period.
All in all, our initiative helps to alleviate the misunderstandings that exist in connection with menstruation. Our latest initiative is to create sanitary reusable pads combined with health education through an interactive comic based booklet designed to allow girls to make informed decisions as well as increase their productivity and health. Research has shown that pads and health information gets 75% of school days back and helps girls stay in school and reach their potential.
By 2020, She for She aims to reach three million girls with our reusable pads and deliver over 10 million comic booklets across the African continent collaborating with organizations in several African countries focusing on our core area.