Punctuation

By Peggy Cox

Wow…have we really only been here three days? It seems like it’s been at least a week.  We started our Tuesday by meeting with Sophia Klumpp, one of the founders of AFRIpads. AFRIpads are washable, cloth sanitary pads that are designed to provide effective and hygienic menstrual protection for up to 12 months. The #1 reason girls in Uganda drop out of school is due to their monthly cycle.  It’s estimated that Ugandan girls miss 20% of the school year because they’re unable to afford disposable pads. TWENTY PERCENT! Amazing, huh? Can you imagine if that were the case in America? Would we tolerate our girls missing that much school, or dropping out altogether simply because they could not afford tampons or kotex? I think not.

In all of our meetings with our partner schools so far, I think the thing that has gotten the biggest reaction is when we tell them that starting this January, we will begin providing every girl with an AFRIpad hygiene kit. The news has been received by gasps of shock, huge smiles and gratefulness. Yep, gratefulness… for giving them a pack of washable kotex, a couple pair of panties, a bar of soap, a drying hanger, and a bag to store everything in. Who would have imagined the availability of those common everyday items that, let’s admit it, we all hate to be seen buying in a store…who would have imagined that those things would be what determined whether a girl received a basic education? I wouldn't have prior to today.

We ended the day with a pre Big Five-OMG birthday party at The Little Donkey Mexican restaurant in Kampala! We’re headed to Gulu tomorrow morning (my actual date of birth).

So, I guess you could say our day started with a period and ended with an exclamation point. =)

Much love,
Peggy