Sarah Nyatule, 16 years, has no friend or family in Uganda. She is a refugee from South Sudan. She lives in Rhino Camp in Arua District. During menstrual period, Nyatule doesn’t come out of her tent because she lacks pads to use in such a situation. She plucks leaves from the tree to use or sometimes she sits in the durst. She has now developed itchy swellings in her private parts.
Many girls and women in Nyatule’s camp face high risk of infections and even violence because of inadequate access to proper menstrual sanitary care.
Grace Works Initiative has mobilized to help these girls with menstrual management kits and they have been presented to the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Musa Echweru at a ceremony to mark the International Women’s Day for the displaced persons.
The Minister has applauded GWI for joining in the struggle to help displaced people especially in feminine issues. Over 500 South Sudan women and girls in Rhino refugee settlement camp have received the kits
Women and girls in the camps are vulnerable. They cannot afford to purchase sanitary pads, so they use unhygienic cloths and tree leaves during menstruation. There women suffer various infections and even violence because they have to wait until dark to find a private place to change their feminine hygiene.
Rhino settlement camp is made up of nine clusters each comprising of about 2,000 refugees.
The kits are an intervention to save the women and girls from infections and reproductive health problems as well as stigma. GWI envisions a future where these women and adolescent girls can live in an environment that is not only free from stigma and genetic infections but also that provides them with a proper hygienic lifestyle.