Why Yambi Exists
Shark Week, Aunt Flo, Code Red, and “That time of the month” are all common euphemisms that women and girls use to refer to their period. For many, menstruation is just a part of life and a sometimes-monthly inconvenience but for girls in underprivileged and underserved communities, it can be a barrier to education, health and dignity.
For the ladies reading this, you may dread “that time of the month.” You may resent it for the trouble, the aches, discomforts, and possibly even the inconvenience of the constant bathroom trips and inability to eat your favourite foods for a few days. For girls in underserved communities in Uganda, menstruation is more than an inconvenience. It often means missing school for several days each month. Girls in this community end up dreading the natural occurrence of a menstrual period because in many cases, its cumulative effect ends up dimming the bright light that shines over their futures.
You may be one of those more privileged people who never missed school because of a monthly period, at least not unless you chose to do so. Maybe your period is down as an inconvenience at worst, and you’re still able to complete all your tasks at school or work, and you’re wondering why a period would cause such trouble. Come with me…….
Lack of Access to Menstrual Products
In many communities, girls cannot afford to purchase menstrual products like pads, tampons, menstrual cups etc. For this reason, many of them are unable to control or contain the flow of blood while they are menstruating, and as a result, their lives are greatly interrupted. Imagine if your arm bled uncontrollably each month, with no way to stop or contain the bleeding. How would this impact your daily life? It isn’t much different when blood is flowing out of one’s vagina. For these girls, menstruation is a constant disruption, one they cannot escape. So, for the girls who cannot afford menstrual products to contain the blood, upholding their dignity, and securing their comfort and that of the people around them takes priority over their education at least for a few days.
If the average menstrual period lasts 4 days, a girl in this community misses out on 4 days of school every month. In a 3-month term, this comes up to 12 days of school. In a 3-term year, this comes up to 36 days away from school for countless girls in these communities.
Health risks posed by Alternative Menstrual Products
For some other girls, however, the thought of missing 36 days of school every year is just not a reality that they can comfortably endure. They therefore resort to making alternative menstrual products. You’re probably getting ready to applaud and you should. Unfortunately, these alternatives like towels, old cloths, rags or tissue are not up to standard and are only a temporary solution. These alternatives cannot meet the need like proper menstrual hygiene products. In even more unfortunate circumstances, some of the alternatives are outright dangerous and pose a serious health risk. You probably would not advise anybody to ingest soil, polythene paper or feathers. Most of us would agree that contact with these materials should be kept strictly external. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a guarantee for the girls using these as alternative menstrual products and contact with these materials, could lead to an infection or other serious illness. So, while these girls may not spend 36 days away from school because of the uncontained flow of blood, they will most likely spend more days away because of the resulting sickness.
Environmental Barriers to Health and Dignity
It seems like there is an easy solution to this problem, simply find a way to provide pads and other menstrual products to the girls in these communities. Problem solved? Not quite. Having access to pads and other menstrual products is not very helpful if you do not have access to clean running water either at home or school. Ladies, we all know how messy “that time of the month” can get. Clean running water is essential. Having access to pads and other menstrual products might not completely alleviate your struggles if there is no lighting in the bathroom you most commonly use. How then are you able to tell that you need a change of pads? I know we commonly brag about ladies having a sixth sense, but this is not what it is for. Finally, if you attend a school where there is no separation between the bathroom used by boys and the one used by girls, or worse yet where there is no separation between the bathrooms used by adults and those used by students, having access to menstrual products probably still won’t make you feel safe or comfortable.
It is for the girls in these communities, that Yambi Community Outreach exists. We aim to empower these girls and afford them the privilege of menstruating with dignity. We do so by not only providing menstrual products (both reusable and disposable pads) but also by conducting workshop sessions to teach them how to make their own reusable pads. We also provide menstrual education materials to ensure that the girls are aware of the changes happening in their bodies and the best way to navigate whether through emphasizing proper hygiene and cleanliness or explaining which materials are safe to use when on your period.