A charity launched by an East Midlands entrepreneur has given a “significant” grant to the Ugandan Red Cross to improve the lives of up to 50,000 girls and women in the country.
The Randal Charitable Foundation has partnered with the health organisation to build a factory in the East African nation making reusable sanitary pads.
As well as helping women and girls with their periods, the factory, in the central Mukono district, will provide jobs for more than 200 vulnerable females who will be trained the make and market the pads.
Once fully established it will make 200,000 re-usable pads a year, with around a fifth handed out to vulnerable school girls for free. The rest will be sold at a subsidised price.
The Randal Charitable Foundation was launched by Leicestershire entrepreneur Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL and Mrs Moni Kotecha to help socially disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world. Its aim is to save and improve the quality of life of a million people globally.
Dr Kotecha was the founder of Loughborough medicines manufacturer Morningside Pharmaceuticals which has been making and supplying generic medicines for the UK and overseas markets for three decades.
He sold the £76 million turnover business to Hampshire-based Aspire Pharma last autumn, and has been dedicating more time to his charitable work.
Dr Kotecha, who chairs the charity, said: “This project is so beneficial to the community because without access to high quality sanitary pads and toilets, or washrooms for changing, many girls and women are not able to go far from their homes.
“The consequence of this is that they often cannot attend school, and in many cases become trapped in their homes unable to earn a living to support their families.
“We are delighted with our partnership with the Ugandan Red Cross Society because the manufacturing facility will have the dual benefits of ensuring girls are able to stay in school to gain a good education, and in many cases a future free of extreme poverty.
“It will also deliver sustainable skilled employment to the women and girls involved in the production and sale of the pads.”
The project is part of a collaboration between the Uganda Red Cross, the Ministry of Education & Sports and other partners to keep girls in school through better menstrual health education and better access to pads.
