In October 2017, I joined my partner Dr. Shay Pintov, who had volunteered as a physician in Kiboga. Before leaving, we met volunteers returning from their medical mission in Uganda, rich in experiences from their work there. However, I was unable to learn from them about Uganda itself nor about the culture.
I had no idea what to expect or what I would actually be doing there. I simply threw a few clothes into a suitcase and packed a lot of food and confidence in myself that I WILL discover how to contribute in Uganda. During the initial several weeks I was just wandering the streets, learning the place and the people. I entered shops, held conversations with locals, toured the colorful markets and encountered wonderful people, kind, well mannered and very welcoming. I felt at home very quickly.
Friendship
During that time, I met a local woman, Joyce. The moment I shook her hand I knew in an instant that our paths would join going forward.
Joyce, originally from Kampala, was brought to Kiboga by her marriage. There she had developed professionally, rising up from a teacher position to the supervisor of 84 schools in the county. She is an educated, charismatic woman who is fully aware of and loves her place, eager to contribute to the progress of herself and her community.
Over time we have become close friends, calling each other “sister” and feeling like actual very close sisters.
One thing I learned early on in Kiboga was that in the local families the men rule and are in charge of all the decisions. Women have no social standing and no such concept as “free time”. We decided to get into action to change things. I knew I wanted to do something for the local women, however I had no clue what that would look like.
Joyce was moved by my enthusiasm and we set out to enroll local teachers-instructors who would be willing to engage in new, never-before known-to-them activities. Joyce has activated her network of local connections and reached out to many women. In many cases we had to obtain permission from the husbands or the brothers, in some cases coming to inspect our activities. There were women who have never returned to a second meeting, but many women kept returning.
Listening
I had to “walk on egg-shells” when inviting the women for weekly activity, to avoid inciting thoughts and actions normal in my culture but unacceptable in theirs, so that they are not prevented by their men from coming - yet do not turn rebellious against their men. At the same time I have encouraged them and empowered them as strong, powerful women who take care of their families as well as help in the farm work, hence deserving time for themselves. These are women who are routinely appreciated by their husbands and frequently beaten by them.
I started having conversations with them alongside the creative work together. Social life in Uganda is very restricted in free expression, rendering mutual revelation of hardship almost impossible and even celebrating together is very difficult.
Occasionally Israeli nurses join our medical staff in Kiboga. To their credit I must admit that invariably they have all eagerly agreed to attend my meetings with the local women, contributing education in their respective specialty such as pregnancy and child-delivery, healthy food, personal hygiene and more. Seeking additional ways to foster conversation, creative thinking, team building, constructive competition and sharing among the women I brought from Israel various board games, such as puzzles, building blocks etc. Lacking information about the women’s level of education, abilities and wishes we have decided to explore and gather such information.
Very quickly it has become apparent that most of the women have no reading and writing skills. On the spur of a moment I then reached out to a piece of cloth I happened to have with me - and sent for needles and threads. The cloth was cut to identical pieces, one per woman. I relied on my very basic sewing skill to guide the women in creating a nice cloth bag. They all seemed content - even if the public expression of emotions is unusual for them - bringing home the product of their own creation and feeling some self-worth, and returned to the following week’s meeting.
In this way I have designed the weekly meeting. The women have manifested seriousness and responsibility in showing up to the weekly meetings, revealing that it was worth their time and that they had something to look forward to.
Some women in the Kiboga group, wonderful women, come from very far - yet make it important to never miss a meeting. Such women I provide with financial assistance to make it possible for them to come to the meetings.
Trust
When I travel back to Israel I always make sure to leave for the women creative projects lead by Joyce. Over time Joyce has grown to deeply believe and get enthusiastic in our work. As a token of appreciation she has donated to the group a room at her home, which she has turned into a cozy and pretty classroom with wall-posted teaching materials in both English and Hebrew.
On one of the occasions when I returned from several months long stay in Israel, I inquired about the women regarding their activities and progress. Invariably, they have all thanked me for assuring their activities would keep going on. One woman reported that she was unable to read and write when joining us, and because I had seen to it that the teaching would be uninterrupted she was able to master reading and writing and had eventually been chosen to lead the women at her village on account of that.
Over time, while I am in Israel, Joyce has created another women’s group in a village half an hour way from Kiboga. That was love at first sight. Fifteen strong, smart, knowledgeable, warm-hearted women bonding as mutually supportive friends. Amazing women, a wonderful group. Here our meetings are dedicated to conversations, creative work, various board and ball games, singing, dancing and personal growth together. Simply heart-pouring joy. We sing in their language as well as in Hebrew, in which they like most “David king of Israel” and “Tumbalalyka”.
As time goes on I feel that they have transformed from cordially tolerating me into actual acceptance of me as one of their own. This is best evident in including me in their group conversations, personal matters, dilemmas and pondering various issues. They are open and free with me, and most importantly trust me.
In the Kiboga group I have identified a woman who is a dressmaker. Occasionally we work at her home, using her sewing machines and learning from her skills. The women create aprons, bags, table maps, toilet paper holders and more. I keep my promise to fund the purchase of materials - and I also buy their end products. That puts money in their pockets, their own money to spend as they wish.
In one meeting the women have raised the following question: “What does one do with a bag?” So we had a full discussion about the uses of a bag.
Hygiene Pads Project
One ordinary evening in Kiboga, while I am in Israel, Joyce arrived at our home with a bag out of which she pulled a single-use cloth-made hygienic pad and said that something must be done about such pads. She had no specific ideas but had realized that such pads, available in Kampala but not in Kiboga, could be of great help to female students, many of whom had been missing entire weeks from school or had even quit altogether when menstruating.
Shay traveled to Kampala to present the idea of establishing a sewing workshop at the womens groupin the village, so that hygienic pads can be manufactured, our women would have an income-generating occupation, additional women can be employed and the entire village will experience an economic boost.
Once this proposal was turned down in Kampala, we resolved to create our own sewing factory, operating as a cooperative with all the women plus ourselves owning it as equal partners and contributing each her skills and labor. This was an entire novel field for me. I sat down to learn everything, from the type of cloth pads are of through their sizes, single Vs multiple use etc. I searched for and have designed pads, tested existing pads, purchased cloths, sewed pads, tried them on women and collected feedback.
My friend Reuma, owner of a fashion firm, has become an invaluable resource. She has provided crucial information coupled with connections to pros in the field and a request to them to dully collaborate with us. Furthermore, she has engaged her company’s computers to utilize extra cloths left over from her fashion products to be cut into the design of our pads. Going beyond the donation of cloths, Reuma has suggested that we approach hotel chains for donation of used towels, since those were being replaced every two years.
We partnered with “Joseph Project” who collect the hotel towels for us and store them in their warehouse in Beit Shemesh in Israel and with “Social Delivery” who has enrolled dozens of volunteers to mark and cut the towels for the pads designs.
We are funding ourselves the purchase of the materials for the waterproof innermost component of the pads. At first we were shipping the waterproof materials to Uganda for our women to manually cut the pads’ designs. That was a great project for the women to collaborate and bond through, however the quality of the work was insufficient. Therefore we have shifted to carry out the cloth cutting in Israel.
In Uganda
Meanwhile, we are working in the village where the women reside, at the home of a woman currently sewing and who owns a sewing machine. We have purchased an additional sewing machine, and when the women started recognizing that the pads project was serious they requested to purchase one more machine. Shay, while working as a physician with the women, explained to them that the sales proceedings of the initial pads produced would be used to purchase the new sewing machine.
The women counter-proposed that they will collect money themselves to buy the machine, to which Shay replied that when they purchase a sewing machine we will purchase TWO. That was a very heartfelt moment.
To celebrate and to empower the women I have screened for them the movie The Queen of Katwe. This was the very first time ever these women have watched a movie and consumed popcorn.
We returned to activity after an absence of several months due to the corona, what a joy and satisfying feeling - a feeling we have done the unbelievable. Those wonderful women believe in me and do not give up, despite the hardships, and even though they dive into a new world in terms of employment, socially and culturally. It is hard for them to spend whole working days in our very small sewing workshop; the husband who is used to his wife going out to work at dawn with a hoe to work in the field, needs to get used to a new partner: The sewing workshop.
Indeed, It is difficult for them to commit to an hour of arrival at the sewing workshop or to several working hours a day, but they try their best and I do put too much pressure
I want them to feel that this project is theirs, that it is important for them, that it will advance them. When they feel that way, everything will come to its place in peace. Also, Joyce and I make sure to share our thoughts, questions, and doubts with them.to discuss together and not make any decisions for them. We all decide together. They are such powerful women, women who understand life.
Growth
Together they came up with the idea of splitting into two working groups. Each group will have their working days, three days a week. What a wonderful idea this is. Of course we were happy with it. We left Sunday free. And… surprise, surprise: Many of them come to the sewing workshop even on Sundays. That is a sign!!! They are happy, confident, loving and believing in what we do, so they invest as much as they can. When we opened our sewing workshop, the women barely sewed seventy pads a week. Today they can sew 300 and keep on increasing every week. Their willingness deserves all praise.
Out of their understanding that two sewing machines are not enough, and they must increase production, they announced that they plan to buy another sewing machine. We were so excited and made a promise to them: If they buy a machine, we'll buy a machine too, so we'll have four machines.
And they have kept their promise! Every woman on the team donated as much as she could, they collected the required amount, not a trivial matter... and we bought a machine as well, as promised. Four sewing machines roaring proudly every day and working with joy. In their enthusiasm the girls of the group want to purchase more machines.
We decided that every woman would know how to apply the entire pad production chain. From cutting to packaging. Everyone learnt it all (during the corona period, when assembly was forbidden, they came one by one to the sewing workshop shop and learned) to sew on a sewing machine. The one who knew, taught her friend. True sisterhood!
Teaching
So pads started to pile up and it was time for another step. Shay, in collaboration with Joyce, conducted a training for women on sex education, menstruation, beliefs and tradition. It was fascinating to hear from the women themselves what they went through.
The women have learned, practiced, and got a doll named Jacqueline, on which they demonstrate pad laying, which helps them deal with the shyness around the matter.
We coordinated with school principals to arrive for training. Teachers, students and mothers were waiting for us. They were divided into capsules with each capsule having a guide from the women's staff. To look and to admire those women. Nothing less.
Such great cooperation and respect runs between the women and the community. For the first time in their lives the women leave the village to teach a different population. For the first time in the lives of the girls and their mothers, they hear guidance on such an important subject. They succeed. They are so successful, the girls understand the message and purchase pads.
In light of the mothers' requests that we return, we will also expand the activity to provide vaccines against cervical cancer (of course in coordination with the health system) and possibly also guidance for boys on the subject of maturity and sexuality. (The idea came up after we found out that in one of the schools we visited, a relatively small school, 400 students in grades 1-7, 9 girls got pregnant this year! Obviously it is not voluntary. It is rape).
They understand that it is not right but no one does anything.
I feel proud, not because they are able to sell and gain money, but because I have helped those women to step forward and become ambassadors making a difference in their community.
The change starts in small steps, it is already here and it will become huge. After all, when something is good you do not just go back, and spread it. We still do not have the financial gains that can allow us to pay the women for their work and yet we have thought about compensation. In complete surprise to the women, we returned to each of them the amount of money they contributed in order to purchase the sewing machine. They did not believe, it is another thing that does not exist in the local culture, the return of money. Their happiness, satisfaction, and of course the confidence that we are really here for them.
Creating employment opportunities for the local female population in the production of sanitary pads and in conducting continuous training in schools.
Creating an economic model based on a women's cooperative, while generating income for women from "female empowerment" groups, while maintaining the economic sustainability of the project, and constant innovation additionally. This will lead to the strengthening of female empowerment among the participants in the project to increase the number of female participants.
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FEEL FREE
1/ BACKGROUND
Kiboga district is characterized by being one of the poorest districts in Uganda, about 80% of the residents earn $1.75 per day (below the poverty threshold defined by the United Nations). In addition, there are different cultural concepts in the population in relation to the status of women and they have consequences for everyday life that cause, among other things, their inferiority in the community in regards to the men.
About 69% of all children who start their studies in P1 (1st grade) do not finish 7 years of studies. Most of them are girls. There are several reasons for this. Absence from school due to menstruation and a high incidence of pregnancies among girls aged 15-19.
The increase in the number of pregnancies among girls during the Corona period to the extent of one out of four girls is a young mother. And if that is not enough, the incidence of HIV infection among the youth who do not establish a safe sex life has also increased. Today, this age group constitutes the main population in which the incidence of HIV has increased significantly in recent years, in contrast to the downward trend in the population as a whole. In addition, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in Uganda with a low reference level of 5%-15% in the relevant age group among girls.
The feel free program was developed with the aim of improving the quality of life of girls and boys during the life cycle in the fields of health and education. With the help of the 3 interventions including the supply of sanitary pads, HPV vaccination and SHE we can improve the quality of life throughout the life cycle of the women in the rural area.
A. Sanitary Pads - supply and education for the use of sanitary pads from the start of menstruation including influencing the establishment of an infrastructure in schools that will allow adequate conditions for changing.
B. Sexual Education - for boys and girls with the aim of reducing the cases of young pregnancies and the high incidence of AIDS among this age group.
C. HPV Vaccination - expanding HPV vaccination coverage to reduce the number of cervical cancer cases in young women.
2/ CULTURAL IMPACT
When a female student is on her period, she does not have a supporting system of toilets and bandages and/or other hygienic solutions that allow her to continue her daily routine.
For example, during menstruation, female students do not come to school for a week (for a wide variety of reasons). In each month of studies, a female student attends school for only three weeks. This problem has consequences for the level of academic achievements of the girls, which adds to their inferiority. This problem exists. Many girls who get their period, stop their studies at school.
In the rural area the woman is significantly inferior to the man and more extreme than in the urban locations. This is reflected in the fact that she is part of the husband's property. Many times the "price" and value of a woman is measured in cows which must be paid as a dowry.
In the local culture, rape is part of a social norm and not as it is perceived in Western societies. Over 30% of girls are raped and most of them even raise their own children (one in four). The goal of the project is to integrate as many female students into the circle that use reusable sanitary napkins while significantly reducing the number of days absent from school.
3/ OBJECTIVES
Sanitary pads
Significant decrease in school absences from an average of 80 days per year to an average of 15 days within 5 years:
Acquire knowledge and provide sanitary pads for girls and women.
Build a circle that uses about 85% of all the girls who reached sexual maturity that year. Every year there is a potential of 10,000 girls in the district.
Ensure that as many of the girls who have started will continue to use these bandages over time.
Follow-up 65% of those who started in the first year will continue to the second year and beyond.
Sexual Education
The purpose of this component of this project is to bring the boys and girls to awareness of the need to have safe sex without coercion while pointing out that my body is my property, thus reducing teenage pregnancies and reducing HIV infections. This chapter in the project is led by Dr. Catherine Promise has a lot of experience in leading a process that will serve as a sustainable model and can be copied to other districts. This program was implemented in the previous decade with the aim of reducing HIV infection and has been adapted to today's needs and realities.
HPV Vaccination
During the Covid-19 virus, due to the absence of children in schools, the coverage of the HPV vaccine decreased to 5% or less.
Bilu Uganda aims to help the district medical system reach a vaccination coverage of over 85% during the 5 years and to keep the coverage at this level in the future. This is with the goal of the district being among the leaders in its field in Uganda. A move that has a long-term effect on reducing the incidence of cervical cancer. In the third year of the project, during the budget year of 2023-2024 we worked in 154 schools and gave 4232 vaccine doses.
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