The gift of hygiene packs puts genuine smiles on these girls’ faces. Photos by Shalom Mwebaza.
HANDS OF LOVE
by Emily Bloodworth
For years, Lisa Hankins, an American attorney, has volunteered on missionary trips to two orphanages in Uganda run by Hands of Love, a Christian nongovernmental organization (NGO). During her visit in 2015, Hankins assisted a Ugandan doctor who performed medical checkups on the children, and it became apparent that a large percentage of the girls who were menstruating had infections because of their lack of access to sanitary products. “They were all embarrassed. They didn't want to talk about what they were doing for their cycles because they didn't have the supplies. The girls started telling me that when they have their periods, they’re using either old rags or leaves to handle their flow,” says Hankins.
What Hankins is describing is called period poverty, the unavailability of sanitary products due to financial constraints. It's not a term you often hear in the U.S., although that's not to say that American females don't experience it; those from impoverished backgrounds often do. Fortunately, there are many community resources available to help disenfranchised girls and women in the U.S. obtain menstrual products. Unfortunately, in developing countries like Uganda, this is not the case.
After seeing firsthand how the lack of access to sanitary menstrual products was affecting girls in the Hands of Love orphanages, Hankins was inspired to take action. She learned about Afripads, a Uganda-based enterprise that manufactures reusable sanitary pads, and ordered several. “Ugandan women are running this company making products for other Ugandan women to solve this issue. It’s the coolest thing. We ordered 500 kits from them and gave them out to the girls. They went crazy, they were dancing and singing, they were so excited,” says Hankins.
When Hankins helped to distribute the pads, she took the time to explain to the girls how to wear them. She also explained how the pads can help prevent infection and make menstruation more manageable. “You would think we had given them a diamond ring,” says Hankins
Each hygiene pack provides an unsponsored girl with three bras, six pairs of underwear and a one year supply of pads. Photograph by Shalom Mwebaza.
Exacerbating the issue is the girls' lack of underwear, which also makes them more prone to bacterial and viral infections, says Allen Hope, a Communications/Sponsorship Office Administrator for Hands of Love-U.S.A., the American arm of the Ugandan-based nonprofit. This lack of undergarments has social ramifications as well. According to Allen, girls who don’t have the clothing they need to cover their private areas often feel less confident. They are also more vulnerable to sexual assault by predatory men who offer the girls underwear and pads in return for sexual favors.
These potential social consequences force many girls who are menstruating into social isolation, as it is safer and easier to stay home during their period. “Lacking hygiene products affects the psychological and emotional well-being of our girls. It has a great negative impact on every area of their lives – academic, career, marriage, parenting, business, and more. This has hit our communities and nation at large, for it keeps girls and women lagging behind,” says Allen.
This lack of access to menstrual products hits the girls in Uganda particularly hard when it comes to education. In a study by BioMed Central, a British publisher of scientific journals, it was found that menstrual pain and the dearth of effective products for healthy menstrual hygiene caused Ugandan girls to miss school at a rate of 28% on days they were menstruating compared with 7% on days they were not.
Laura Brady, an accountant for Hands of Love, who has also volunteered on several mission trips, says that a lack of access to clean water adds to the problems faced by menstruating girls in Uganda, particularly for girls who use rags instead of pads. “Walking for miles to clean the one sanitary product you have causes time off in school,” says Brady.
What's more, the water is often polluted. “When you're cleaning your rag with a contaminated water source, the infection rate is higher. You miss school not just for periods, but because of bacterial infections that come with not having proper sanitation,” says Brady.
When girls miss so much school that they have to drop out and are unable to pursue careers that require a secondary education, they must find other ways to support themselves, and the opportunities are dismal. “Their families are poor, they know there's not a lot of jobs or income-producing opportunities. Quite often, marriage is the answer,” says Brady.
Being a child bride can be dangerous. “Uganda is a polygamous country, oftentimes, these girls end up being third, fourth, fifth or sixth wives. There is no legal limit on how many wives you can have. You can just imagine all the abuse that leads to when that's her option. Keeping girls in school is critical,” says Brady
Hands of Love-U.S.A. Sponsorship Coordinator, Vera Dwyer, says that in addition to providing girls with the physical supplies they need to stay in school and avoid child marriage, the nonprofit seeks to educate girls about their bodies. “Around 2015, some of the girls in our care asked our missionaries if they were still virgins if they had a period, and why their stomachs hurt every month,” says Dwyer.
Soon after, Hands of Love began a monthly sex education program and partnered with Days for Girls, a nonprofit that prepares and distributes sustainable menstrual products to girls-in-need. Dwyer says that Days for Girls has taught girls in the care of Hands of Love how to sew, wear and wash reusable pads. To date, more than 10 girls at the Hands of Love orphanage have been trained to produce feminine hygiene items using a new sewing machine. “Our goal is to eventually have a building with a washing station and other things that give girls privacy and a sustainable method of caring for their personal hygiene,” says Dwyer.
Another goal for Hands of Love is to have a sponsor for every child in their orphanages. In a country with 3.2 million orphans and no government resources to care for them, it is up to organizations like Hands of Love to meet the needs of Uganda’s orphaned children. Sponsors who donate $50 a month can meet a child’s basic physical, educational, and medical needs.
Though menstrual products are included as part of sponsorship, Hands of Love has many more children in their orphanages than they do sponsors. One-time donations of $50 can supply an unsponsored girl in Uganda with three bras, six pairs of underwear, and enough pads to last for one year.
If you would like to make a one-time donation of a hygiene pack, you can do so at this link.
If you would like to be paired with a child to sponsor through Hands of Love, you can do so at this link.
