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LUUKA - At just 18 years old, Jariat Nabirye is already a mother of two. The resident of Ikonya village in Luuka district says life has been difficult.

She works in neighbour gardens but what she earns is barely enough to feed her children and get them basic needs as well. Sugar, soap and sanitary pads are a luxury.

“I use old clothes to manage menstruation but they are a nightmare. Aside from burning me, they also cause me infections,” she says. 

Esther Nairuba, another teenage mother shares her ordeal; “I stay at home whenever I am in my period because the old clothes I use burn me. Walking becomes painful. It is also difficult to move with spare ones or even change when they get soaked.”

Nairuba started using the clothes when she was 12 and she says, her parents refused to buy her pads saying it was a waste of money. She had to think out of the box.

Jackline Nakafu’s story is not different. The resident of Nawanyago Buyemba village says the two old clothes she uses, make her smell whenever she is on her period.

Also, Fatinah Alikoba dreads them saying she has been embarrassed several times when she stains her clothes because the pieces she uses can’t absorb blood well. They also fall when she is walking.

Over 100 young mothers received reusable saniraty pads and other supplies. (All Photos by Ritah Mukasa)

Girls receive reusable sanitary pads

Last week, those girls, together with 200 others received a donation from UG Love Movement and The Remnant Generation, charity initiatives led by Angella Asiimwe, a human rights lawyer.

The donation included; reusable sanitary pads, baby and adult clothes, toys, baby bottles and materials for making reusable pads. The group also donated bedding, materials for hairdressing training, soda, sacks of maize flour, beans, snacks and money. 

⁠They converged at Nawanyago Thrive Centre in Luuka district. In attendance were teenage mothers, children and community leaders from Nawanyago and Nawampiki villages.

The donation aims at supporting teen mothers and orphans, according to Asiimwe. This annual initiative is carried out every year around Easter time. In 2023, the group which comprises over 50 professionals, supported 120 teenage mothers in Mukono district.

Women leaders also taught the girls to make reusable pads to end period poverty. In 2022, they visited orphanages in Kabale district. 

“This is our third edition of Easter teen moms’ charity. We endeavor to take it to a different region every year. We started with western, then central and now, Eastern,” she says.

They chose Luuka, following different reports that rank it among the districts with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies.

Donna Keirungi, one of the coordinators adds that they strive to provide essential needs and skills to empower teenage mothers and orphans to thrive independently.

They also offer basic needs, legal aid, sexual and reproductive health services, human rights education and psychosocial support.

On how they pull off the charities, Asiimwe says, they pool resources and also get help from well-wishers. 

“I thank those who have donated. With collective efforts, we can break the cycle of teenage pregnancies, period poverty and inequality,” she adds.