Rotary Club of Adjumani distributes sanitary pads to Oyuwi primary school girls

The Rotary Club of Adjumani has stepped in to help girls at Oyuwi primary school, in an effort to combat the growing problem of school dropouts and teenage pregnancies.

The Club donated sanitary pads at an event themed “Empowering Girls, Securing Future: Menstrual Health and Career Dream.”

This intervention follows a recent education report from the Adjumani district, which revealed a concerning trend: an increase in teen pregnancies and school dropout rates, particularly in the Adropi sub-county.

According to the district education office, Adropi sub-county had the highest number of teenage pregnancies and female school dropouts in the entire district during the previous academic year.

Oyuwi primary school was among the hardest hit, with several girls unable to continue their education due to menstrual health issues and early pregnancies.

Recognising the link between menstrual hygiene and girls’ school attendance, the Rotary Club of Adjumani launched a community outreach program to provide practical assistance.

During a lively event at Oyuwi, club members distributed 792 packets of sanitary pads and educated girls about menstrual health, self-esteem, and the importance of attending school.

Brenda Tideru, President of the Rotary Club, spoke at the event and emphasised the organization’s commitment to improving the lives of young girls through sustainable initiatives.

“With support from the education office. It has been highlighted that Oyuwi primary school has the highest drop out of girls. And the main reason that the girls were dropping out was basically due to challenges with menstrual hygiene.

“And, today, we are here to offer support as a Rotary Club of Adjumani to provide these girls with sanitary material and also give them career guidance so that it supports them to further their education and reduce the dropout in the school. The statistics are really bad from P4 to P5 there is almost a 50% dropout.”

By the time the girls reach primary seven, nearly 95% have dropped out of school. “So, this is an area we feel we can create an impact and we are here today to provide them with those sanitary items, teach them how to use them, teach them how to dispose of them so that we are able to help them to finish their school,” Tideru added.

Speaking of the target, Tideru added, “Our target is basically girls from P4 such that there is a sustainability. We want to look at how they reach P7, the 96 girls we will continue supporting and we will see if they can be able to complete.”

Inyani Dolerance, the Club Service Manager of the Rotary Club of Adjumani and the district’s HIV focal person, stated that their goal is to ensure that girls in rural schools continue to achieve Vision 2040.

“This project intention was to ensure that the girls don’t drop out of school. The girls continue to study and become good citizens in the near future. And the target was to have 400 girls padded every year and expanding it to other schools that will be very much in need.”

“Oyuwi primary school is much in need because the number of pupils who are enrolled at lower primary is very high but when it reaches to the higher primary level like P7, it reduces by more than 60%,” said Inyani.

“So, these are also the critical need for this particular intervention, and that is why we are here today so that we see that girl child remains productive and we achieve the goal of vision 2040 of ensuring that we have productive population in the country.”

He noted that the school has a high dropout rate, giving the sub-county the highest ranking in terms of teen pregnancy. “The teen pregnancy rate here has been between 19 and 21%.”

Girls’ enrolment has been high since the beginning of 2025, starting with P1. It keeps declining as pupils get to P7, and fewer girls consistently finish the primary cycle.

“Now, I feel this education is very important because most of our community members are vulnerable to the extent that they cannot support their children to complete studies. But now, this kind of education helps a lot,” Inyani remarked.

“Padding the girls is very important because they cannot access it. Honestly speaking, some of them cannot access; now, the ones who start experiencing their period have the tendencies of remaining home and this means they will be missing school, missing classes,” Gulua Monga Alice, headteacher Oyuwi primary school.

As part of their larger campaign, the Rotary Club of Adjumani has promised to provide similar assistance to other schools in the district.

For girls like, Anzoa Josephine, 13, who is in p.4, the impact of pads is immediate. “Now I can come to school every day without fear. I want to become a nurse, and I don’t want to drop out.”

The Rotary Club and community leaders hope that by forming partnerships like this, they can reverse troubling trends and ensure that no girl is left behind due to something as natural as menstruation.