Satisfashion UG’s Woman Crush Today Is Bernadette Ojawo

"A force to reckon with"

Bernadette Ojawo is the Team leader and Founder of Pads For Her, an initiative tackling ‘period poverty’ in Africa. ‘Period Poverty’ can be defined as inadequate access to menstrual health care and sanitation, as well as the stigma and shame surrounding menstruation that prevents menstruating women from fully participating in society.

Pads for her (Wabibi Pads) is tackling ‘period poverty’ through sewing reusable sanitary pads which can be used for up to 3 years, which are distributed to girls living in marginalized communities. They also train young girls and women on how to better manage their menstrual health and hygiene.

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Ojawo swears by her life mantra which is ‘Activating creativity’. Leveraging the power of the internet, she and her team have reached and trained over 1,000 women and girls. They have also distributed over 10,000 packs of sanitary pads since 2020.

She is one of the three innovators, whose ideas have been shortlisted by Airtel Uganda in their ‘Uganda Needs More of You’ campaign. The campaign is seeking to recognize Ugandans using technology to positively impact their communities.

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We’re definitely rooting for her because, according to a Ministry Education report, nearly one in every four Ugandan girls aged between 12 to 18 will drop out of school once they begin menstruating. For those who do attend school, the report adds, their absence rates triple from 7% to 28% during their periods. Dropping out of school decreases these young girls’ likelihood of escaping the cycle of poverty and increases their chances of marrying or becoming mothers early.

You can vote for her for free by
Dialing *162#, select #WabibiPads to vote

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Satisfashionug@gmail.com