What are RUMPS?
Reusable menstrual pads, or RUMPS, can be made at a very low cost and can be used for an extended period of time, since they are washed and reused. RUMPS can allow girls to continue going to school while they are menstruating. Many girls in Ethiopia, especially in the rural area, don’t attend school while they are menstruating because of lack of sanitary pads, and related feelings of fear, shame, or anxiety.
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| The final product: a reusable menstrual pad! |
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| Sewing the edges of the menstrual pad. |
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| The second to last step: sewing on the button and cutting the button hole. |
I decided to lead a
training for female grade 9 and 11 students in Mezezo, to teach about menstrual
hygiene and give the students the chance to make RUMPS. I wanted to teach about different emotional
changes that may occur as a result of menstruation, and also what is “normal”
regarding menstruation, in order to hopefully reduce the fear, shame, and
anxiety associated with it. I offered students at school a chance to sign up for the training, and quickly had 50 girls enroll.
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| Posters that I made for the training, in English and Amharic. |
Twenty minutes before
the training was supposed to start, girls started peeking their heads into the
room, looking curious, as I hung up posters and organized the RUMPS materials
(fabric cut into a cross shape, buttons, needles, thread, and scissors). At ten
minutes till, the room was full with 50 students (the exact number of RUMPS
materials I had prepared) and we got started!
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| I taught about menstrual hygiene and menstruation, in both English and Amharic. |
The students were so
attentive and eager to learn; they were so excited to make the RUMPS and be
able to take it home with them. A
foreigner teaching about menstruation, in their local Amharic language, probably helped to keep
their attention J They each got to
make a RUMP to take home with them.
After they finished, they eagerly came up to me to show me their final
product, with huge smiles on their faces.
We took a group
picture afterward, and when we finished taking the photo and I announced that
the training was over and thanked them all for coming, they all began giggling
and chatting; it was so amazing to see these girls who are usually so shy in
class, come out of their shells and laugh like this!
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| The entire group of 50 girls after the training. |
Something as simple as learning to make a RUMP can make all the difference of whether a girl can go to school. It is a skill that they can use, and also one
that they can teach to others; to friends, sisters, and the community. Gradually through the ripple effect, more and
more girls will be empowered to learn and go to school, because when girls
learn and continue going to school, the whole community and society will
benefit.
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| Proud girls posing after the training, in front of the RUMPS posters! |
In case you're interested, these are the steps of
making a RUMP:
1.
Cut two cross
shaped pieces of material.
2.
Cut a
2-inch slit in the middle of one of the pieces of material.
3.
With a
needle and thread, sew the edges of the pieces of material together.
4.
When you
finish sewing, use the slit to flip the material inside out, so you have a
nice-looking seam!
5.
On the same side that the slit is on, sew a
button on one of the flaps and a button hole on the opposite flap.
6.
To use,
place 2-3 layers of clean, absorbent cloth in the slit
7.
Wash with
cold water and soap, dry in the sun, and reuse!
( (1). Tegegne TK, Sisay MM. Menstrual hygiene management and school absenteeism among female adolescent students in Northeast Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:1118. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1118.
Hannah so important...and working toward empowerment ! great going
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