Project, Feb 12.

Greetings dear friends and family, 

I have made a commitment to keeping you in touch with the needs of the people to whom I have been sent and so I am optimistically presenting to you a proposal that is specific and potentially transforming for the lives of the young girls of Pader.

As many of you know from my previous blogs, Pader is one of the districts that is found in Northern Uganda. It is presently undergoing a huge transitional process from war to a peaceful rehabilitation. Most children are now returning to school and eagerly resuming their education.  There is an unfortunate fact of life however, that has created an overwhelming obstacle for the teenage girls. The young women here in Pader are incredibly ardent to receive a good education and if the opportunity/resources present  themselves to pursue post-secondary. These young women are bright and hard working and deserve every opportunity to succeed that they can possibly recieve.  Considering the hardship and tragedy that has been endured even in their young lives they are enormously resilient and remarkably perserverant.  Having said this, I was completely heart broken to hear of a specific need that is so basic and simple but nevertheless a real requirement to be met if these young people are to stay in school. It is a complication that is considered embarassing and overwhelming but as you and I know, can easily be resolved with the proper resources. 

As soon as girls here reach a certain age they have a tendency to drop out of school rather unexpectedly. We have found a direct correlation between girls reaching the age of puberty and school drop-out rates. As some of you may have already guessed the underlying problem is the mortification that often follows with a teenage girls menstruation period. I know that this issue is a bit beyond my jurisdiction as a male, but the fact that young girls are discontinuing their education due to such an easily solved issue is very distressing. Not only are they dropping out of school but their parents (if they have any) will often force the girls into an early marriage after their first menstruation. As soon as these young girls reach the age of puberty, society views them only in terms of maternal significance. Items like pads and tampons are things that many women take for granted in the west but the girls here in Pader unfortunately do not have the money to buy these resources to help themselves (many do not even own a pair of shoes). These resources include: underwear (or knickers as they are referred to here), and the cotton material to make sanitary towels that are placed inside the knickers.

One of the solutions is to educate the school-going girls on how to make their own pads. My friend and co-worker Josephine has instructed many girls in various schools on sanitary towel making in the past but has mentioned to me that there are no longer resources available to give out. School has just resumed (after their summer break) on the 1st of February and there is now a great opportunity to ensure that a large number of girls not only stay in school throughout the year 2010 but possibly return to school for the 2nd or 3rd term and onward. 

This is a story of Akello Rose exactly as she wrote it to me: 

"I am Akello Rose, I am 14 years old. My father was killed by rebels (LRA). My mother contracted the deadly HIV/AIDS and past away in 2008. I have four siblings and am the second born. I go to school to Pader Kilak primary school. My brother of 15 years  is heading the family. When I started periods, i did not know of it. It started while I was in a class room. When I stood up during break time, a boy next to me saw blood on my uniform. He called the other pupils. They made jokes out of me and laughed. All sorts of names was being used. E.g. they were screaming at me that "you are a woman, go get married!". I was very stressed. And didn't have somebody to talk too. I had to drop out of school because i was stigmatized." - Akella Rose

My humble request goes out to any kind hearted person who is willing to help the girls of Pader by providing the necessary funds to help purchase the needed resources. The money donated will go towards buying underwear, needles, threads, and cotton materials. E.I. is currently operating in 14 schools in the district and there are approximately 3500 girls attending. These young (educated) ladies are one of the keys to restoring stability, independance and dignity to this impoverished region. I have consulted a handful of people here on the potential cost of purchasing the material needed for this amount of girls for the duration of the school year and estimated it at $600.00 CAN.

If you would like to contribute to this campaign your prayers and gifts would be greatly appreciated. Please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will let you know how to proceed. Just put in the email heading:  Feminine Hygiene Project for Girls of Pader  and i will respond as soon as I am able.

Thank you, and God Bless you for your generosity (once again)

For His renown, 

-C

p.s. I am currently in Kampala on a bit of a break. I've finally become accustomed to the driving here in Uganda which initially presented three hurdles for me when I arrived: 1. To learn stick shift with the wheel and stick on the right (/wrong) side of the car. 2. to Drive on the left (/wrong) side of the road. 3. To join the craziest drivers I have ever seen in the world on some of the worst roads I have ever seen in the world! God is good... and i can finally take 50% of the driving from 'Terry the faithful'. Tomorrow we head to Murchison Falls for a better view of the West Nile River and some of the Big 5 animals that inhabit the land. I will blog again soon with more of an update.. but i really wanted you all to see the above proposal first and foremost. I love you all! 

p.p.s Please check my updated prayer requests.