A Pad Should Never Stand Between a Girl and Her Future: Different Contexts, Common Aspirations
Mukashema Dinah shows how young leaders can turn a documented crisis into local action.
A sanitary pad should cost money. It should never cost a girl her safety, dignity or education.
The NBS TV Special Investigation Report Sex for Pads reported on girls in Kasese being drawn into transactional sex to obtain menstrual products, revealing how the absence of basic supplies can expose girls to exploitation.
Yet the problem extends beyond Kasese. In 2026, UNFPA Uganda reported that 64% of girls lacked access to menstrual products, while two in three lacked adequate knowledge about menstruation. The consequences include missed lessons, reduced confidence, exploitation, unintended pregnancy and school dropout.
At Nyaburungi Primary School in Kibaale District, Mukashema Dinah, a Teach For Uganda Teacher Leader, refused to accept these barriers as inevitable.
Mukashema Dinah demonstrates to learners how to properly use reusable sanitary pads as part of the Hope For Girls Initiative’s menstrual health education.
Through the Hope For Girls Initiative, Dinah mobilised friends, mentors, parents and local leaders. Together, they reached more than 100 learners across four schools with reusable and disposable sanitary pads, menstrual-health education and mentorship.
“Commitment made me start, persistence kept me going, and faith carried me through. Through networking, we turned a vision into impact,” says Dinah.
What makes Dinah’s response noteworthy is that it goes beyond distributing pads. The pads addressed an immediate need. The education replaced confusion with understanding. The mentorship reinforced a simple but powerful message: you belong in school, and your future matters.
Kasese and Kibaale represent different contexts, but the aspiration is the same: every girl deserves to be safe, learn with dignity and shape her own future.
That is the spirit of International Youth Day 2026: Different Contexts, Common Aspirations. It is also the leadership Teach For Uganda seeks to nurture: young people who identify challenges, mobilise communities and act where it matters most.
Teach For Uganda is inviting female STEM graduates to step into leadership through Cycle 2 of the STEM Fellowship. No teaching background is required, only the willingness to learn, serve and lead.
Applications are now open.
Learn more & apply : https://teachforuganda.org/the-fellowship/stem-fellowship/
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