×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Sanitary making project on

News
Lubancho House, a faith-based organisation has embarked on a sanitary making project, which has so far benefited over 800 school-going children in Hwange. Lubancho coordinator, Otilia Nyoni told journalists, on a National Aids Council organised Matabeleland North tour on Thursday, the project was initiated in 2006. “A research was carried out in 2006 on the […]

Lubancho House, a faith-based organisation has embarked on a sanitary making project, which has so far benefited over 800 school-going children in Hwange.

Lubancho coordinator, Otilia Nyoni told journalists, on a National Aids Council organised Matabeleland North tour on Thursday, the project was initiated in 2006.

“A research was carried out in 2006 on the girl child, and it was discovered that most girls were forced to stop going to school during their menstruating period, as they did not have any sanitaryware,” she said.

“The project was then initiated following the research.”

Nyoni said the project being conducted by Women’s Law Centre, University of Zimbabwe and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, targeted mostly rural-based school-going children.

“The sanitary-making project is mostly targeted at children in rural areas, as they cannot afford to buy the sanitaryware being sold in shops,” she said.

An average of 50 children per school from 16 Hwange rural schools, have benefitted from the sanitary-making project. The target group is pupils from Grade Four to Form Two.

She said the programme was a “trainer of trainees” programme, whereby the initial 50 children who are trained on making the sanitary pad, then ensured they trained more girls at their various schools.

The sanitary pad is called the Femshuleni sanitary napkin. Femshuleni is a Swahili term which means “girls must be in school”.

The sanitary napkin was therefore designed to help girls stay in school and not miss out on their education purely because they were menstruating.

It has also benefitted some children from Hwange’s urban areas.

“In urban Hwange, the project has so far benefitted about 200 children in urban schools,” said Silotsholiwe Mpuzu, the Hwange Aids Project coordinator.

“In the urban areas, the project is mostly targeted at Orphans and Vulnerable Children, most of whom come from disadvantaged families and cannot afford to buy the pads sold in shops,” she added.

Mpuzu said most girls in urban areas, especially those that can afford to buy the sanitaryware in shops, did not respond positively to the Femshuleni sanitary napkin.

The sanitary pad is cheaper as it is re-usable. It can be washed and used again. It is made out of soft flannel fabric and is portable and thus can be taken to school.

It is versatile as it can be made in different sizes with different types of fabric to suit individual needs and activities.