Ten years ago, AFRIpads begun as a team of three in Masaka, Uganda. Our social enterprise has grown enormously since then and now boasts a team of almost 200 across East Africa. Despite exponential growth, Masaka remains fundamental to our success and it is still the place we call home.
So, on International Women’s Day (IWD) 2020, AFRIpads hosted an event at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital (Masaka, Uganda) and launched an annual collaboration to support the female patients and staff with a monthly supply of AFRIpads Menstrual Kits and underwear as well as furnishing the Maternity and Children’s Wards with 20 mattresses.
Sadly, a countrywide lockdown in Uganda due to COVID-19 did make these monthly donations more challenging – but we were delighted to be able to fulfil this pledge on Tuesday 10th November through our distribution of over 700 Kits and Underwear.
The administration and staff of Masaka Regional Referral Hospital were very excited to receive the donation as well as an AFRIpads Use and Care Training. Gertrude Emojong, the National Marketing and Communications Lead also took the opportunity to share why we felt so passionately about this particular distribution: She said:
“We are very excited to donate these Menstrual Kits and underwear here because we believe all women and girls, no matter their setting, deserve to menstruate in safety and dignity.
The AFRIpads factory is based in Kitengeesa, Masaka where it employs over 150 women. Masaka is not only our home but also a big part of our success story therefore it was only befitting to give back to the local community.”
The nurses in the Maternity and Children’s wards were instrumental in imparting basic Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) knowledge and AFRIpads Use and Care Training to the patient beneficiaries.
Edward Kabuye, the Senior Hospital Administrator at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, said:
“We are very grateful for this collaboration with AFRIpads because it has eased the menstrual lives of our patients and staff.
“Previously, our patients faced challenges such as inadequate menstrual health supplies during their hospital admission.”
A huge thank you to AFRIpads Foundation who made this distribution possible. We believe through the removal of menstrual barriers we are one step closer to achieving gender equality.
