Luhwahwa Youth Development Foundation’s (LUYODEFO) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides support to marginalized communities across the Rwenzori region of western Uganda. LUYODEFO was formed by a group of motivated youth to respond to the plight of children, youth, women, and men impacted greatly by political conflict, disease, extreme poverty. Uganda provides primary education for all; however statistics show that fewer than 38% of girls will complete their primary education. Many obstacles stand in the way of successful education for rural African girls but chief among them are issues relating to puberty, teen pregnancy, and early marriage. One major yet traditionally silent issue that hinders girls' development and education is puberty, which is most evident by the onset of menstruation. The high absenteeism due to menstruation among girls has been linked with reduced performance known to be the root cause of school dropout rate. Our grant to LUYODEFO will support a program that engages women and girls in menstrual hygiene education and capacity building in menstrual hygiene management to promote retention and academic success.
