“I would like to be an accountant and an important person in the future. I will achieve this through reading hard, attending classes, attending prayers, and seeking advice.”

15 year old Mabruka Musa, is a P7 pupil at Ocea Primary School in Terego District. Just like many refugee children in the school, she lost her parents in the South Sudan war. Luckily, she was taken up by a guardian when she was 12 years old with whom she came to Uganda.

Musa learned about Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) during the sessions organized by Oxfam at their school. They covered sessions on menstrual hygiene management, personal hygiene, sanitation and hygiene, and preventing gender-based violence.

After the sessions, through beneficiary identification and selection based on vulnerability, child orphans, children living with disabilities, and children who are heads of family were prioritized. Musa was one of the school children who benefited and received hygiene items such as multi-purpose soap.

‘I was able to improve personal hygiene management both at school and at home. I no longer miss going to school. I also improved my class performance,’ Musa says.

‘When I am not at school, I am engaged in home chores and activities such as cooking, learning new ideas, reading, and learning. I also help my guardian sell tea, do casual work and charitable work at church.’

Musa appeals that girls should be supported with initiatives that give them opportunities to keep in school.

Girl children should be given an equal chance to continue with their studies. There should be continuous awareness on early marriage, gender-based violence, menstrual hygiene, management, and involvement of parents to understand that girls are equally important,’ They equally should be supported with hygiene items like I got. she added.

“I would like to be an accountant and an important person in the future. All the support I have received is helping me towards achieve this.”

Mabruka Musa

The WASH in Schools Project – funded by Oxfam Hong Kong is implemented in West Nile. Since August 2023, Oxfam has been working with district stakeholders and communities to ensure girl child education, tackling challenges such as girl retention and reduced school dropouts, The project has so far reached 823 (327 boys, 496 girls) with hygiene items like soap to maintain their personal hygiene.

The project aims to enhance the community’s ability to create child-friendly school spaces, prevent and protect themselves against WASH-related diseases as well enhance community participation.

The project further contributes to “Equal Opportunity to Girls’ Education (EOGE)” initiative bringing together actors for positive change in girls’ education by challenging policy, practices, and barriers to access to education. The project is expected to reach a total 13,000 individuals (9,293 school-going children/pupils in 5 schools and 3,707 persons from both refugee and host communities through public health outreaches and community engagement.