First of all, sending love from Uganda and hope you are keeping safe and well in the midst of this pandemic.
Like the rest of the world, we are understandably working under many restrictions in an attempt to keep the Corona virus at bay and so we have not been able to do as much community work as we had hoped. It has however, provided plenty of time to get to the long awaited- to do list- and to get going with tasks that have been shelved for a while.
We have also written our material for the men’s training sessions. The idea is that men and women need to be empowered together. Often here, men are the ones who control family finances, and make decisions, so their knowledge of women’s health and why it is important to prioritise access to safe menstrual wear and washing facilities is vital. Many women in our teaching sessions have been asking for us to put together this training so we are excited to hopefully be able to start soon.
As restrictions have been easing we have now been able to meet with small groups (no larger than 5) and we have been able to train 2 groups this way. One of these sessions was held with JENGA staff members who will then teach girls in their communities.
Excitingly, we are hoping to start to employ someone for one and a half days to start from the end of September. The aim is that we can work together, spending one day in community; training one group in the morning and one in the afternoon, as well as having an afternoon in the office for admin work together. I am hoping that as the lockdown (hopefully!) eases as the Corona virus (hopefully!) reduces that we can gradually increase these hours and hold larger sessions with more groups. The idea of employing someone is really exciting as it means being able to provide employment and to be able to work towards handing this project over to someone local. Hopefully this will mean that the project can be more sustainable in the long term.
Whilst these past few months have been challenging in ways many can relate to, they have also provided plenty of time for reflection, refining resources and crucially; planning, ready for us to jump back in as restrictions ease. We are so grateful for your interest and support as we navigate this season and plan for the next.