Makerere University Fresher Leads Campaign to End ‘Menstrual Poverty’ in Slums

Ronald Eligu, a first year student of Social Sciences at the Ivory Tower has decided to start up a campaign aimed at ending menstrual poverty in the slum areas of Kampala, Namuwongo in particular.

The selfless young man who grew up in Namuwongo seeing how young mothers struggle so hard to fend for their families, how young girls are exploited and taken for granted because they are helpless and vulnerable has chosen to become a light and ray of hope to them.

Through his Non- Governmental Organization (NGO), The Guardian Angel Foundation Uganda, Eligu and his team have taken it upon themselves to provide sanitary towels and sensitization about menstrual hygiene to the young girls and mothers in Namuwongo.

“Before we began the campaign, we had two girls come to our offices with issues of infections resulting from using things that aren’t understandable as sanitary towels. When we tried to find out more about them, we discovered that their parents and guardians can’t afford pads as one stays with her grandmother and another one with a single mother who sells mangoes and uses all the money she gets to buy food. This compelled me and my team to launch the ‘End Menstrual Poverty’ campaign to help solicit sanitary towels and give them to those who can’t afford and also educate the young girls and mothers about menstrual hygiene” Eligu said.

He also said that although every girl needs these sanitary towels, there are those girls staying in slums where it’s hard for them to get these towels. We therefore decided to start with Namuwongo and we have so far supplied quite a number of both re-usable and non-reusable towels to over 287 girls and teenage mothers.

Eligu also noted that it’s challenging on their side because the numbers are overwhelming and the resources are inadequate yet people are still coming to get the sanitary towels from their offices but they are hopeful that since the campaign has been launched and is ongoing people will contribute more to the cause and they will be able to supply to all the vulnerable girls and mothers.

Eligu therefore urges everyone that can bring any kind of support be in terms of money or the sanitary towels themselves to push the campaign further not to be hesitant to do so and can reach out to them on 0754279716.

It should be noted that the Guardian Angel Foundation Uganda which is based in Namuwongo was formed to address the plight of young women and youth in slums with an intent to change their mentality about financial independence, sex life, relationships and how they can be better in life. The organization also offers academic scholarship for the underprivileged children in slums.