the washable sanitary pads for the 300 school girls in rural Uganda are finished

 The women have finished the washable sanitary pads for the 300 school girls in rural Uganda.  There is a long vacation for winter.  School is closed December until February.  But in February the MOPS group will be delivering 1800 washable sanitary pads to 300 school girls.  It is our hope these pads will help these girls stay in school.  Some 30% of the girls in Uganda leave school because they lack the money for sanitary pads.  Sex education is not often taught in school.  So the plan is to deliver the pads and also teach these girls some basic sex education.

Sylvia and Olive are traveling soon to Zambia.  They will be teaching the women in the MOPS group to make soap.  The group in Kampala managed to sell about 50 dollars’ worth of soap this month.  It is only a small portion of their expenses, but it is a start.  And the women in the tailoring school are making cloths to sell next month.  Again our expectations are modest.  We hope they can earn the money to buy the fabric they need for the sewing class.  But this is only the start.  As their skills improve, we hope they will cover more and more of their own needs.  The goal is self-sufficiency.

One of the babies in Kampala was very sick this month.  There is a mumps outbreak.  But in this case, it was not the mumps.  It was Syphilis.  Syphilis is, of course, a sexually transmitted disease.  The baby had contacted Syphilis at birth.  And the mother also found out she has this sickness.  So both are now receiving treatment.  And we will need to do some sex education in the teen MOPS group. These girls are not promiscuous.  Most were desperate and hungry.  They received food for sex.  And this is how many of them got pregnant, and some got sick.  The baby with Syphilis is also being treated for malnutrition.  The treatment cost 300 Euro.  Part of this money has been donated, but we need more money to cover these costs.  Several of the women still wait for sponsorship.  We thank you if you are considering a donation towards the women’s food and daily needs.  
Go Fund Me is HERE  and PayPal is HERE.  More about sponsoring women HERE. 

Only one of the women and her child has the mumps so far.  We have shut the workshop down for one week, and canceled MOPS for a week to try to keep this disease from spreading.  And we are talking about getting all the mothers and children vaccinations.  Children’s vaccinations are free, but adults are not free.  I asked Sylvia to get me some information and costs for vaccinations.  We also want to buy bed nets for all the women.  Malaria is actually the biggest health issue in Uganda.  We are going to need 18 adult bed nets and 25 children’s nets.  The adult nets cost 20 dollars, the kids are 10 dollars. 

I realize the needs seem unending.  But the pads are finished, the group is sending two women to teach soap making, soap is being sold and we are dealing with health issues in a responsible way.  It is easy to get overwhelmed by the needs, but we must focus on what we can accomplish.  And there is so much to be thankful for.  I am so grateful for all that is happening!  And I thank you for all your support!