Stromme Foundation Launches Solar-Powered ECOJUA Bags to Keep Girls in School

In a vibrant ceremony filled with hope and community spirit, Stromme Foundation has launched a campaign to promote school retention and completion among girls, unveiling innovative ECOJUA solar-powered bags at Namakakale Primary School and Walibo Primary School in Luuka District, eastern Uganda.

The initiative seeks to empower girls and ensure children stay in school despite challenges posed by sugarcane farming in the region. It focuses on combating period poverty, teenage pregnancy, and forced child marriage through Bonga after-school clubs, where girls gain critical life skills to make informed choices and take charge of their futures.

The ECOJUA bags, produced by the Smart Girls Foundation with funding from Stromme Foundation, are waterproof backpacks equipped with reusable sanitary pads, integrated solar lights for nighttime studying, and educational booklets on menstrual health. Distributed through school-based Bonga clubs, these bags directly address key barriers that force many girls out of school—poor hygiene and unsafe study environments at home.

Bonga boys from Walibo Primary School in Luuka District pose for a photo after receiving ECOJUA solar-powered school bags, part of a campaign by Stromme Foundation to keep children in school.

The launch drew local government officials, educators, parents, and over 500 learners, underscoring education’s power to break the poverty cycle.

Empowering Girls Through Education
Stromme Foundation, a Norwegian non-profit, focuses on fighting poverty through inclusive education, income generation, and green job creation. In Luuka District and other parts of Uganda, its Bonga clubs, implemented with African Evangelistic Enterprises (AEE), build girls’ confidence, decision-making, and practical skills such as making reusable sanitary pads and liquid soap.

Joseph Walugembe, Programs Manager at Stromme Foundation, highlighted the need for such efforts in sugarcane-growing areas where teenage girls are easily lured into early sexual activity.

“We recognize the government’s Universal Primary Education (UPE), but extra effort is needed to keep learners—especially girls—in school. We do this through extracurricular Bonga in-school clubs,” he said.

Dinah Morgan, Country Director, explained:

“Our mission is to fight poverty through quality, inclusive education, income generation, and job creation. We know girls drop out mainly because of period poverty, teenage pregnancy, and early marriage. The ECOJUA bags, made by Bonga girls, include reusable pads, a solar light for reading, and a booklet teaching girls how to overcome period poverty.”

Impact at the Schools
At Namakakale Primary School, enrollment rose from 350 to 534 pupils in just two years, with 132 learners in Early Childhood Development (ECD). Head teacher Kajamiti Amos credited the transformation to partnerships with Stromme Foundation and AEE.

“We once struggled with poor infrastructure, but today, we’ve achieved much—teacher training, mental health support, climate-smart agriculture, and sanitary pad-making through Bonga sessions,” Amos said.

He noted that the school has improved inclusivity by supporting children with disabilities and has mobilized parents to keep learners in school. However, he called for more classrooms, latrines, and community sensitization on ECD.

At Walibo Primary School, head teacher Babilekele Rebecca praised Stromme Foundation’s support for helping vulnerable girls resist the lure of sugarcane money and stay in school.

Learners from Walibo Primary School and Namakakale Primary School display their ECOJUA solar-powered bags, launched by Stromme Foundation to promote school retention and completion among children in Luuka District.

Community and Partner Voices
AEE Board member Dickens Ziwa said the organization drives change through both the gospel and social transformation.

“We thank the local community for the warm embrace. Everyone, including parents, must take part by keeping children in school,” he urged.

Bulanga Town Council CDO Hellen Aliwayatya lauded the program for easing her community workload:

“These bags will help our children study at home. Sugarcane is plenty, but it has caused more harm than good as children hide in the plantations.”

Deputy Mayor Namango Alice echoed appreciation, urging parents to prioritize education to combat early pregnancies linked to sugarcane work.

Innovation Meets Empowerment
Ijokua Mesely, Team Leader at Smart Girls Foundation, demonstrated the ECOJUA bags to cheering students.

“These aren’t just bags—they’re tools for staying and completing school,” she said. “The waterproof design, pad slots, and solar-powered light mean girls no longer have to study by candlelight or skip school due to menstruation.”

Over 33,000 bags have been distributed across Uganda so far.

As the sun set over Luuka’s sugarcane fields, students proudly held their new ECOJUA bags, chanting Bonga club slogans—a symbol of resilience and renewed hope. With government support and community engagement, Stromme Foundation aims to expand the program, reaching thousands more learners across Uganda.

For now, in Namakakale and Walibo, one message rings clear: Education—illuminated, one bag at a time—is the surest path out of poverty.