Most interesting thing that’s happened since COVID

During lockdown I worked with the Charity ‘Teams4U’ to create an manual that will be used by teachers in Uganda and Sierra Leone to educate children on Menstruation.

I first got involved with Teams4U in July 2019 after going on a volunteering trip with them to Uganda for 10 days. During this time we visited many schools with the aim to educate on mensuration and sanitation. We spent the mornings playing games with the children and educating them on sanitation through a play which showed the importance of hand washing and how to make a sink out of a Jerry can at home. The afternoons were spent going into classrooms with the older children. In the girls classrooms we educated on menstruation by explaining what it is and handing out reusable sanitary pads and underwear, something which the majority of girls didn’t have. In the boys classrooms we educated on the respect to women and the importance of safe sex.

This trip made a huge impact on me and once I got home I knew I wanted to still be heavily involved, and have been fortunate enough to do so. Since returning home I have carried out the design work for the charity. This has included a logo design for the ‘develop with dignity‘ project which is what I took part in out in Uganda. I have also been lucky enough to design and create the leaflet and educational resources for the shoebox appeal and then during lockdown create the menstruation manual.

Why was a manual on menstruation needed?

Before I get into explaining the design process of the manual I think it’s important to understand why a manual was even needed in the first place. In a lot of African countries such as Uganda menstruation is still a very taboo topic and something that people don’t speak about and aren’t educated on. In Uganda the schooling system in terms of year groups is very different to the UK. Here what year you are in is dependent on your age and you move up each year as you get older. In Uganda the year group system is based on academic ability. Each year students will sit exams that will determine whether or not they can move up a year group. If they don’t pass the tests then they will keep staying behind each year until they do, so you could have a year 8 class but with ages from 13-18. Passing these exams and finishing school is vital in these countries if you want to get a job. No education, no work, no and no way to support your family. In the UK we are fortunate to have other options... apprenticeships, college, university, work experience, on the job training. In Uganda the majority of jobs needs qualifications. However for a lot of girls they won’t ever achieve this

For many girls each month when they menstruate they take time of school. They don’t have underwear or sanity materials that would protect them whilst at school, as a result they stay home. In July 2019 one of the classes I was in consisted of 125 girls, out of those 125 only 17 had 5 or more pairs of underwear. Some had less but the majority had none. Each month when these girls don’t attend school they are missing key information that they will need in order to pass the end of year exams. As a result of missing so many days of school every month, lots of girls fail the exams and are held back. This then happens the next year, and the year after that until eventually girls will drop out of school because there is not much hope of them passing without being able to attend school. In a lot of these under developed countries leaving school at an early age puts many children in a vulnerable position , especially girls. They are at risk of child marriage, child pregnancy and without an education there is no way for them to get work.

Educating young people on menstruation is key to keeping girls in school which will enable them to have the best future they can. However Teams4U aren’t there all the time, which is why a manual was needed!

Manual design process:

The manual acts as a resources for teachers in Uganda and Sierra Leone to educate their students on menstruation. We wanted to give children the opportunity to learn about menstruation even when Teams4U aren’t there, as this will ensure that more girls are educated on this topic.

When designing this manual there were lots of things to consider:

-Language: The language couldn’t be too scientific as some users might have broken English, however it needed to be scientific enough to explain the basics of puberty, menstruation etc.

-Visuals: It needed to be visual! You needed to look at the graphics and understand what it was telling you, without having to read all the text.

-Cultural differences: A good example of this is when I was illustrating a diagram for how to use and wash a disposable sanitary. Naturally the first thing that cam to mind was to illustrate a sink with a tap to demonstrate how to wash this. However this is something that the majority of girls do not have access to, instead I opted to illustrate a bucket filled with water as this is much more realistic and will help the girls understand better when they are being taught.

-Specific: Everything I had to illustrate had to be very specific. A lot of the illustrations were demonstrating activities the teacher could do with the class to educate on menstruation. A set of instructions alone explaining how to do the activity could be very confusing so a storyboard was needed to also explain. I found illustrating these storyboards the most fun. They had to be very simple and clear, so I had to think a bit outside the box when deciding what to include in each one.

This is a cause that is very important to me as I think no girl should miss out on school because she is on her period. The manual that I created will help teachers educate their own classes so that even more girls get the education they need to keep them in school.

To read more about my time in Uganda read the trip report I did for some of my sponsors when I went last year

Uganda July 2019 PDF.pdf

Download PDF • 1.42MB

To find out more about Teams4U and the amazing work — they do check out their website www.Teams4U.com