Sge Impact

SGE runs a sanitary towel project that cater to school going girls from disadvantaged social economic background in their puberty. The project currently provides Menstrual Hygiene Management training and distribution of reusable sanitary pads to school girls in Tanzania; encompassing girls from standard 5 in primary schools to secondary schools. Female students face great challenges in terms of hygiene and sanitation. For girls who are menstruating, these problems compound the difficulties posed by the inability to afford sanitary towels as well as cultural taboos around menstruation. As a result, many girls miss on average four days of school every month which is over a month in a year, meaning they fall behind in class and sometimes even drop out of school altogether. This is an added challenge to the already existing problems that lead to the high dropout rate of female students in primary and secondary schools. The main problems faced by women and girls are: • The expense of sanitary pads; • Absenteeism where girls stay at home rather than attending school when menstruating; • Unhygienic ways to dry menstrual materials; • Inadequate waste disposal facilities; • Lack of privacy for changing menstrual materials; • Leakage from poor-quality protection materials; • The lack of resources for washing such as soap; • Limited education about the facts of menstruation; • Limited access to counseling and guidance; • Fear caused by cultural myths; • Embarrassment and low self-esteem; Our Motto “Education All Month Every Month” has radically proved to create a world where women and girls can step boldly into the promise of their future. The goal of the Initiative is to empower the vulnerable girls through provision of sanitary pads and capacity building on menstrual hygiene management and reproductive health for improved performance and self-esteem.