About the Project
Consisted of the construction of a four-compartment latrine with two shower stalls and changing room, where girl students can wash and change when they are menstruating. The project included a water storage tank and hand-washing stations.
Location
Kamughobe Village, Kisinga Sub-county, Kasese District, Western Uganda
Quick Project Stats
| Funding Date | June 2022 |
| Luena Investment | $5,000 USD |
| CBO Partner | Partners for Resource and Community Connect (PARC-UG) |
| Village | Kisinga Sub-county, Kasese District |
| Country | Uganda |
| # of Children Impacted | 440 |
| Community Contribution | 500 hours of manual labor, contribution of locally-available materials, follow-on maintenance |
“Period Poverty” and its Affect on Girls’ Educations
The government of Uganda provides “free” primary education for all. However, statistics show that fewer than 38% of girls entering Primary 1 (the equivalent of kindergarten) will complete their primary education. Many obstacles stand in the way of successful education for rural African girls but chief among them are issues relating to puberty, teen pregnancy, and early marriage. UNICEF estimates that 1 in 10 menstruating girls skip school 4 to 5 days a month and ultimately end up completely dropping out. The lack of effective hygiene measures (adequate WASH, privacy) is one of the factors driving absenteeism during menstruation, which in turn correlates to poor academic performance and high dropout rates for rural Ugandan girls.
Providing School-aged Girls a Safe and Sanitary Space to Manage their Menstrual Hygiene
This project directly benefited 689 people through different interventions: the 330 girls who will be using the toilet, and the entire school of 689 people (672 pupils and 17 teachers) who now have access to clean water.
The toilet block features a small laundry room, where girls can wash and change when they are menstruating and a water storage tank, so that water is always available. In addition, hand-washing stations were installed to teach and encourage hand–washing among school children. School children will compete in a WASH art entry and wining murals will be painted on the walls of the toilet and the school. As part of the project, hygiene and sanitation meetings were held, aimed at promoting hygiene, water safety and hand washing regimes in the community and preventing the spread of water-borne diseases.
This project provided girls with a safe space within their school to manage their periods, promote appropriate hygiene and sanitary behaviors focusing on hand washing among all school children, and improved the retention of girls in school by reducing the rate of school drop-outs.
Infrastructure Combined with Community Education Promotes Sustainability
In addition to the infrastructure component of this project, PARC Uganda agreed to facilitate the formation and training of a school WASH committee and WASH club to spearhead the running and overseeing good practice and proper usage of the facilities. The school administration in close collaboration with parents established a WASH fund, where children/ parents will pay a small fee each term for repairs associated with the water system, including replacement of taps and emptying of the septic tank when full after around 6 years.
Meet our Partner Community-Based Organization
Partners for Resource and Community Connect (PARC-UG) has worked with the local communities and local governments in Kasese since 2003 to transform the lives of the children and the communities that surround them.
Learn more about our partner organization here.
