Menstrual health for deaf women in Zimbabwe

Nzeve, in an innovative initiative to improve menstrual health for deaf girls and women, recently conducted a two-day training session in collaboration with Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe (SAZ). The project focused on equipping deaf girls with the skills to create reusable sanitary pads. The training, which employed practical demonstrations, was part of Nzeve’s broader menstrual health project, aimed at increasing knowledge and resources available to deaf women and girls regarding menstrual health.

Five deaf girls, selected from the vocational training project at Nzeve, were trained by SAZ facilitators. These girls, now proficient in manufacturing reusable sanitary pads, will distribute sanitary packs and transfer these vital skills to other deaf women and girls, ensuring the project's sustainability. Deaf staff, including a youth supervisor, an adult deaf mentor, and a parent of a deaf child, also attended the training to support the girls.

During the training, the girls produced 28 reusable sanitary pads (20 hand-sewn and 8 machine-sewn). The facilitators commended the girls' ability to master the complex task of hand sewing the pads, as demonstrated by the impressive quality of the pads they produced. This achievement, coupled with their ability to correct mistakes and improve with each new pad, shows promise for future production.

Although some initial obstacles were encountered, such as a shortage of functional sewing machines, the girls successfully transferred their hand sewing skills to machine sewing. One girl even introduced an innovative method of hand sewing that drastically improved the sanitary pads' quality – a testament to the creativity and resilience these girls possess.

The project was well-received by the participants, with one of the girls, Tadiwa, expressing her gratitude, saying, "I am very happy because now I have no stress of buying sanitary pads every month. I only need to buy material and sew on my own. Thank you very much SAZ, we have learnt a lot and are now aware of how to make pads. We worked well together and we will teach our friends."

As we look ahead, the trained girls will demonstrate pad-making to others in the sewing project. We will focus on repairing existing sewing machines and purchasing new ones to facilitate sanitary pad production. We plan to produce the first batch of 150 reusable sanitary pads by the end of July and a second batch of another 150 by mid-August. These pads, along with vital menstrual health education, will then be distributed to deaf girls and women in local communities.

This project marks a significant step towards improving menstrual health among deaf girls and women. As Caroline, the youth supervisor, stated, “We are going to cascade this skill to other girls in the sewing project as well as communities.” This initiative not only provides immediate relief but also empowers these girls with valuable skills that can benefit their communities in the long term.