Uganda Read This!: Thankful for RUMPS

It is estimated that a girl in Uganda spends 108,000 Shillings, $43.20USD, annually on menstrual pads. This is outside the budget of many families and thus the child will miss school for the duration of her period and therefore tends to receive poor marks on her exams. This is a cyclical cycle of concern in Uganda as there is no simple answer to the problem.

That is until a Peace Corps Volunteer came up with the idea of Re-Usable Menstrual Pads, RUMPS. I feel like I have talked about this before but it is a huge issue and one that I am passionate about.

Today as my fellow PCV’s celebrate Thanksgiving and Americans set the table with Pinterest inspired centerpieces and a 20-lb turkey to last for morning leftovers, I chose to head to the Demonstration Primary School to teach a lesson on reproductive health and RUMPS to P4, P5, and P6 girl students. Arriving to the school I was met by Ellen, a PCV who works with the Core Primary Teachers College. As she put together the RUMPS packs, I was left with the chalk to begin the lesson. Up on the board went my very basic drawing of a female’s reproductive system and I began. We talked about what menstruation is and what is happening to body during this time. We addressed rumors about safe days, days that girls believe they cannot get pregnant, and that as young girls we are abstaining from sex so that we can reach our goals, like attending university. We came up with reasons why RUMPS are favored over Always pads, including they are environmentally friendly, they save on money, and you can make and sell them as an Income Generating Activity, IGA.

I never said I was a good artist...

As the girls sang to Rihanna and sewed their RUMP together, they were eager to finish… Knowing the possibilities that this simple pad could provide them.