Orphaned girls learn how to make own sanitary pads

cotton wool for their personal hygiene.
This lasts about two days.
For the same amount of money, orphans and other vulnerable children in Hwange make about 10 washable sanitary pads, which can be used for up to four months.
On average, women menstruate for four days each month and change their sanitary wear at least three times daily depending on the flow.
That means the majority of women need a kg of cotton wool, forking out at least US$2 each month.
As a coping mechanism, young girls whose families are in the low-income bracket in Hwange have turned to home-made pads to cut down on the cost of sanitary wear.
Introduced to girls in Hwange by two non-governmental organisations (Lubancho and Hwange Aids Project) in December last year, the washable pads, which are popularly referred to as the Femshuleni napkin, have proved to be a godsend.
“We used to provide them with modern sanitary wear but when our coffers ran dry we improvised the home-made napkins,” said Lubancho co-ordinator Sister Otilia Nyoni.
The organisations used to provide sanitary wear to the children under funding from the National Action Plan for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (NAP for OVC).
The first round of this pool of funding officially ended last year and registered organisations have since submitted applications for the second round of funding.
“Girls in low income households, whose majority are in rural areas, are accepting the pads but some in urban areas still prefer the usual cotton wool,” Sister Nyoni said.
The idea of making sanitary wear at home was piloted in Tanzania, where research revealed that many vulnerable girls failed to go to school during menstruation because they were not comfortable: hence the name Femshuleni – meaning “girls must be in school”.
Faith-based organisation Lubancho has so far taught about 800 girls between Grade 4 and Form Two in 16 rural schools to make the pads at home.
Sister Nyoni said the training included teachers and officials from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.
“Our aim is to impart skills on how to make the pads to the few girls whom we can manage to train so that they can teach others as well.”
Making the washable pads
What is needed to make the pads at home and how hygienic are they?
Ms Rachel Zhou of Lubancho says one needs a piece of material, usually flannel, baby fleece or T-shirting, which are soft and good at absorbing water.
A piece of plastic to prevent blood from leaking to under garments and a ribbon to tie the pad around the waist are also needed.
The size of materials differs from person to person but on average a metre of fabric makes 10 sanitary pads.
A 30-metre-long ribbon costs R5 or 50 US cents.
After use, Ms Zhou says the pads can be washed in salt water.
Hwange Aids Project co-ordinator Mrs Silotsholiwe Mpuzu says acceptance has been low since girls are used to modern sanitary wear.
She says in Hwange urban they have trained about 200 girls to make sanitary wear at home.
Zimbabwe has more than 600 000 orphans and other vulnerable children.