ACHIEVEMENTS from July written by Country Director Joyce Kidulu 

Wise Choices for Life, in collaboration with Compassion Mbale cluster, has reached 52 schools with a total number of 7191 girls and 2960 boys under the age of 10 -18 years with a campaign on menstrual hygiene management, which was completed in three weeks’ time. During the campaigns, we combined the boys and girls in the same sessions with the intention to make these boys menstrual allies and to prepare them to become better fathers in future knowing that caring for the girl child is a responsibility for both parents.  The areas handled during this campaign were puberty, disadvantages of early sexual involvement, importance of abstinence, menstruation, menstrual cycle and menstrual hygiene management and life skills. The goal of the Menstrual Hygiene campaign was to empower girls through menstrual hygiene management to better care for their bodies, answer questions they might have, and maintain consistent attendance in school. Through open discussions, we equip girls with the knowledge they need to feel more confident about their bodies. This in turn helps the girls to develop high self-esteem, communication skills and confidence resulting in reduced school absenteeism and teenage pregnancy.

The knowledge gave students confidence to speak about their bodies hence the clearing of myths and taboo around menstruation. This was observed during campaign sessions as girls and boys shared freely without fear. We hope that they shall continue with developing these skills.