BY ALEX BALUKU
A year after Super Mothers Uganda, a nonprofit making foundation launched the fashion and design project to benefit the young mothers and women at Kahendero fish landing site in Muhokya town Council of Kasese District, the community initiative is now seeking shillings 10 million to put up a study center.
According to Asiimwe Kumuhanda, the foundation’s coordinator, after the project was launched in July of 2022, the community of Kahendero fish landing site in collaboration with the area local council chairpersons donated a piece of land, for the foundation to construct a study center so that project can benefit a good number of people. However, since then the foundation has not realized funds to put up permanent structures to house the development.
Currently, the project is being run in two small rented rooms at the landing site, and Kamuhanda says this space is not enough to accommodate a big number of their target number and according to him, they have an enrollment of about 40 students.
It’s upon this background that the foundation is looking to raise 10m to help them put up a permanent structure to house the project. In a consolidated effort, the foundation the community of Kahendero landing site, are appealing to all the people, well-wishers, organization and government parastatals to contributed towards the noble cause.
About the project
Sewing the future of our Mothers Project is an ongoing skills and entrepreneurial empowerment program created by Super Mothers Ugandawith the mission of training young girls and women in Kasese District in clothing alteration and sewing as well as providing the necessary knowledge and financial support for the targeted people to own and operate their own small tailoring businesses.
This project is training girls and women to sew sanitary pads to make hygienic reusable sanitary pads using terrycloth, poplin cloth and fine polythene.
Challenge
In most rural areas of Kasese, many women and girls struggle to pay for food or education, let alone menstrual pads. Additionally, there are many myths, misunderstandings, and taboos around menstruation. As a result, most women use unsanitary scraps of cloth to manage their periods and in many cases aren’t permitted to leave their homes while menstruating.
School girls are afraid to ask for pads from their parents and are so fearful of bleeding through, so they skip school. Many girls are pressured to find boyfriends whom they can freely ask to buy them pads in this community girls are not allowed to ask for pads from male parents (myth).
Boyfriends provide pads in exchange for sex which leads to HIV spread and early pregnancies thus keeping girls out of school. Many schools and churches don’t have clean and safe places for changing pa
NOW, Kamuhanda, says the project will provide all year-round training to communities around the showers of Lake George and Edward on how to sew sanitary pads and provide menstrual hygiene training to young mothers and ongoing school girls.
He says that with the high levels of teenage pregnancies on the lake showers across the district, school dropping out is on the rise and teenage mothers have increased and if this challenge is not addressed, the children of the teenage mothers are most likely to become teenage mothers too in future.
He adds that teenage mothers face social economic hardship inclusive of stigma, family neglect, unemployment/lack of livelihood, illiteracy, among others and all these issues affect the wellbeing of both mother and the child.
Speaking to some of the beneficiaries, Alice Kansime and Carolyn Namanya, they have since commended the efforts of super mothers Uganda foundation in trying to economically empower them through a number of vocational skills.
Would you be willing to contribute; here is our contact person Nakiwala Sylvia +256758684555, and suppermothers@gmail.com
