At the Beginning

Menstruation is Healthy and Normal

As the world becomes smaller and more connected, opportunities to participate in global education experiences continue to grow. As a Human  and Organizational Development major with a concentration in Health and Human Services, I knew that a large number of service and research experiences would be available to me as created my summer project. I also knew I wanted to be involved in a global health related project that focused on a lesser known but vastly important health issue… a project focused on female menstruation in the developing world seemed to qualify in the “lesser known” category.

My summer project is a smart combination of working with the Kasiisi Project, an established U.S. based non-profit, and doing research with Technology 4 Tomorrow, a Ugandan based company. For four weeks, my Vanderbilt classmate Alice and I are living in Kampala, Uganda. We are conducting research for MakaPads, a Technology 4 Tomorrow sustainable development project that creates organic and locally produced sanitary pads for women and girls. We are helping research the socioeconomic effect that MakaPads production has on Ugandan communities and those employed by the company. Then Alice and I will travel to the Kabarole district in western Ugandan to work with a branch of the Kasiisi Project called the Girl’s Support Program. We are visiting the schools benefited by the Kasiisi Project and performing baseline research for development of a Girl’s Support Program in those schools. The purpose of the Girl’s Support Program is to develop peer educators who mentor their female classmates on feminine hygiene and health education issues. Ultimately, Alice and I wish to further ties between MakaPads and the Kasiisi Project, so that a MakaPads production plant could be created in the Kabarole district in the future.

This project has allowed me the unique opportunity of working firsthand with a global health-related project from both the perspective of a  American non-profit and a local Ugandan organization. This experience has already further sparked my interest in the global health sphere, and I realize that I want to take more classes not only on health delivery, but also on international development and health policy.

In the time I have been in Uganda, I am enjoying the adventure of learning about a new international city and culture. In one short week, I have discovered much about independence and self-sufficiency.  I realize that a gap exists between living independently in a university setting and life outside that self-contained community, However, I am excited by the memorable experiences that arise from the exploration of the unknown. In my 10 days in Uganda, I have already settled into my apartment in the bustling capital city of Kampala, visited Kyaka, a Congolese refugee settlement, and whitewater rafted class 5 rapids on the mighty River Nile. With 3 weeks of exploration still to come, I can only imagine what more lies ahead…

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