Good news is always welcome, particularly now after Covid restrictions, businesses folding and overseas aid being reduced, so we are thrilled to announce our plan to support Ntombi Nto, in expanding their work in 2022, but we need your help to do it.

The original sites have now been running successfully for several years with monthly health workshops and support with sanitary provision.  During lockdown when schools were closed and large gatherings prohibited, rather than curtailing support, Joy and her co-worker Loca established support groups of girls led by volunteers, teaching the girls and their guardians about menstrual cups. This has led to many now using this sustainable method. NN now aim to support the original sites to a point where all girls use either a menstrual cup or washable reusable pad kits made in the schools’ sewing rooms. This requires funding to:

• set up sewing rooms at the main schools with manual sewing machines and all the materials needed to make high quality reusable kits.
• run training days for peer facilitated social and sexual health education
• train leaders and peer educators in the support needed for successful Menstrual cup use.

Alongside this support Joy has led an exciting pilot project at one school whose headteacher had approached NN for help. This pilot scheme, to equip a school having 50 girls of menstruating age, aims to become self-run in two years. This has involved initial meetings with the headteacher and volunteer leaders to explain the project and to agree on collecting attendance data, safeguarding, involvement of parents and guardians and a commitment to help all girls to become independent users of menstrual cups or reusable pads. Since registering with the local government council, NN has permission to work with local schools and health services and many headteachers have approached Joy asking for help.