Empowering Girls at Masongola Secondary School: Breaking Barriers Through Menstrual Health and Hygiene

This is the third update on our project at Masongola Secondary School in partnership with MASSA (Masongola Secondary School Alumni Association). Through this initiative, we are directly helping 489 girls gain access to quality education and proper menstrual hygiene management (MHM).

A full overview is provided in our first article, which covered the decision-making behind the project with the two pronged approach: training and the provision of sewing machines.

Within 12 months, the project aims to:

• Reduce school dropouts and child marriages by over 70%.

• Significantly reduce class absenteeism due to menstruation.

• Ensure 80% of girls have consistent access to MHM services.

• Significantly decrease unintended pregnancies through improved SRHR information.

Our March update covered the success of the menstrual and sexual reproductive health (SRH) training. 

Our March update highlighted the success of the menstrual and sexual reproductive health (SRH) training. Two qualified health professionals from Matawale Health Centre and Zomba Central Hospital hosted the session, which was attended by 250 students. The training covered essential topics such as safe menstrual hygiene practices, personal hygiene, responsible sexual behaviour, and the prevention and transmission of STIs and HIV/AIDS.

In addition, by providing  two sewing machines together with a six-month training course to ten women from the Parent-Teacher Association, the local community will be able to produce essential items like reusable sanitary pads and school uniforms for the students.

This support is crucial for the girls in communities such as  Masongola where many have to survive on less than $0.50 a day, so commercial sanitary pads become an unaffordable luxury. Invariably the girls with no access to effective sanitary products miss classes during their period and this means for Masongola school that on an average 32 girls are absent from classes every week.

With the reusable pads produced by the mother group—made possible through sewing machines funded by your donations to Think Malawi- these 489 girls will be able to stay in school without falling behind.

The training of the mother group is currently on-going with them currently practicing to produce both sanitary pads and school uniforms.

With 6 months left of this project we will continue to update you on this project and others through our website, however, there are other ways to also stay updated through our social media such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X or join our monthly newsletter.

Thank you so much for reading! Any donation, big or small, would be incredibly helpful and very gratefully received!