The girls we leave behind

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OPINION

By Doreen Tusiime Musumba

“I have a dream to see that girls in Uganda remain in school. A dream that no girl should be left behind.”

Across Uganda, a number of girls quietly drop out of school each year. Not because they lack ambition or the will to learn, but because of something as ordinary and yet as devastating as menstruation.

“What should be a routine part of life has become a source of exclusion, as poverty, stigma, and poor menstrual hygiene leave countless girls behind in school.”

Each dropout is not just a statistic; it is a silenced dream, a lost innovator, a leader never born.

How can a nation rise when half of its future is constrained by something so preventable? Some girls leave school only to be married off at a tender age; others give in to advances or transactional relationships just to secure basic dignity kits. The cost of inaction is high socially, economically, and morally.

It was against this backdrop that Hope Streams Initiative was born, a charity organisation grounded in the belief that no girl should be left behind.

An educated girl equals an educated family, and in turn, an educated nation. Since its founding, Hope Streams has supported over 400 girls in rural areas with dignity kits, restoring not only their confidence but their hope for the future.

Through collective compassion, girls who had lost their sense of worth have found the courage to dream again.

When we first began, resources were scarce. Yet by leveraging the power of community through social media campaigns and small crowdfunding drives, support began to flow from friends, strangers, and well-wishers across Kampala. This demonstrated that solutions are within reach when guided by purpose, transparency, and impact.

The Path to Sustainability

The challenge now is sustainability. How can Uganda ensure that every girl remains in school?

Perhaps it is time for a more robust, structured response. Imagine if women elites across the country banded together to ensure that every school-going girl received a dignity kit each term (a national sisterhood for change).

Or if the Government took a bold, visionary step by investing in machinery to mass-produce sanitary pads at very subsidised/affordable costs. Such a policy would not only promote menstrual health but also support local manufacturing and job creation.

Better yet, at the district level, women’s groups could be trained and equipped to produce reusable sanitary pads, transforming a pressing social need into a sustainable livelihood. This model not only empowers rural women economically but also ensures that every girl, regardless of location, can remain in school with dignity.

These solutions are neither distant dreams nor idealistic fantasies. They demand leadership that recognises girls not as victims, but as the backbone of national development, and they align squarely with Uganda’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.

No girl should ever have to choose between her dignity and her education. The future of Uganda depends on how we protect and invest in our daughters today. It is time for all of us, government, civil society, and citizens alike, to rise and support our girl child.

Together, we can build a sustainable model that keeps girls in school, empowers women economically, and strengthens communities nationwide.

The writer is the founder Hope Streams Initiative