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September 2024

joannacharlottebro

I know it's been a little while since we last sent an update, apologies for that, but we wanted to share with you some of the exciting things which have been happening in Mbale so far this year! 


It's been an exciting few months with lots of updates and changes and we are thankful for all we have achieved so far this year! As it's been a while since our last email, get ready for a bit of a long one, as there are just so many great things to share :), but we promise it's worth your while! 


One exciting change is that JENGA, our parent organisation, has been going through some restructuring to ensure that we can deliver our work in the most efficient ways, helping as many people as possible. As a result of this, we have done some restructuring too, and I'm so happy to announce that Rose (pictured in the photo below on the left in the black tshirt) is now our first ever official Project Manager! We're so excited that we get to continue working together and that her extra work with us, completing all the admin tasks which helps everything come together, has been officially recognised with this new position! 


Excitingly, since beginning the project, we have now trained over 3,276 people in menstrual health and in how to make their own sanitary pads. A massive testimony is that Rose and Beatrice have are always finding new groups to train, as individuals who have completed the training, have requested them to run more sessions in their home communities as they feel they would like more people to have the opportunity to learn these skills! 


We have been working in more remote and rural locations this year, with Rose and Beatrice in particular, travelling up to 50 minutes on a motorbike to reach groups. This is brilliant because it is often people in these hard-to-reach communities who most need the training. The further away from town, the fewer the work opportunities there are, and the fewer shops which are available to buy hygiene supplies. 


Harriet, a mother who had attended one of our menstrual health and pad making trainings shared with Rose this week - I'm so grateful for this training. Now I know how to make pads, none of my daughters will miss days of school because of a lack of sanitary wear. 


A local counsellor was also thanking Rose and Beatrice for the training, sharing that the certificates we give to those who have made at least 2 pads a month after our initial visit, have helped some members of their community when applying for work. Not everyone will have had the opportunity to attend school, so won't necessarily have school leaving certificates. 


Over 437 have now attended our 9 week (1 session each week) family and reproductive health course which covers topics such as communication, menstrual health and planning for a family. Timothy has just begun training a group of motorbike drivers, which we are really excited about, as some (not all!) boda drivers in Mbale have a reputation of sometimes giving young girls sanitary wear in exchange for sexual favours. Sadly this is pretty common (according to the experiences of my team who have turned down similar requests), and from other groups of men too. So we are excited to have the opportunity to share with a small group and to encourage them to share the information we are teaching with their friends and hopefully see a change in mindsets, and a reduction of this kind of behaviour being reported. 


Timothy has also last month begun speaking on a small local radio, sharing some of the same lessons. So far, it has been a great way to spread the message about reproductive health and to ensure more people hear this vital information. 


Our schools work is still going brilliantly and the wonderful Ketty, our schools worker, has now run our training (menstrual health and pad making) in 17 different schools in Mbale and the surrounding areas! It has been so wonderful to hear, when carrying out of follow up visit to schools, around 6 months after the trainings, the impact that the trainings are having, and how teachers are seeing a reduction in truancy due to a lack of hygiene supplies. 


Really excitingly, we have now given out 180 packs of period underwear, that our team made, in some of our hard to reach communities. Rose and Beatrice also pioneered a new training with extra information about menstrual and reproductive health, for those who had already attended our menstrual health and pad making training sessions. The girls and women were so excited to receive them, and we've already had great reports about how they've made their lives much easier. Thank you to everyone who made this possible with donating suitcases and contributing to specialist fabrics which our tailoring team used to make a product, which to my knowledge, is not currently available in Uganda! It is so wonderful to be able to give the gift of menstrual health items which women and girls are using and loving in many Western countries! 


This Christmas we would love to offer the opportunity for friends to buy gifts in kind which support the work of Every Girl. For anyone who would love to give a gift, which not also blesses their recipient, knowing that a gift has been made in their honour, but which also blesses our community in Mbale, helping us to continue to reach more and more people and to spread this vital information and training. 


If you are interested, there are a variety of gifts you can give, for a variety of different donations, all the way from £10 which covers the cost of 3 schools training sessions in a local school, to £40 which buys the items for a new training pack, with all the supplies needed to train a group of 20 in how to make sanitary wear. More information is on the Every Girl website and also the Just Giving page (which the 'Donate' button at the top of the website and in the 'Gifts in Kind' page both link to), and if you're happy to leave a comment with your donation with information of the intended gift, and your email, I can send you a pdf (one of the images above along with another image, with more information about the donation and the impact it has had). 


Thank you so much for making it to the end of our megga email update and for so faithfully following and supporting the work of Every Girl. We couldn't do it without you! Sending love and greetings from the whole team x 

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