A Father’s Day for Girls

Father's Day is June 17 this year — a great time to highlight the contributions of fathers to the Days for Girls movement! It's a growing number, coming to us through our Men Who Know educational curriculum and Enterprise training opportunities.

I would like to highlight one father in particular: Richard Nyombi, 27, a Days for Girls sewist who works in our Uganda Office's production department as part of a team of five women and two men. He has two daughters: a 5-year-old and a 7-month-old.

Richard started working with us in 2015, when a friend recommended him for the job. He previously sold clothes in the market, and used to move from one market to another depending on the marketing day. We employed him to operate the AccuCut, a machine which cuts fabric for shields and T and T liners — but it wasn’t long before he started learning how to sew the DfG liners, shields, and bags.

Although he spends most of his time in the sewing room, Richard stresses that he has acquired knowledge on menstrual hygiene management and women’s health. He says that thanks to Days for Girls, as his daughters grow older, he will feel more comfortable speaking to them about bodily changes, especially menstruation.

He added that working with Days for Girls has given him a career change, allows him to get a salary on time, helps him pay for utilities, and allows him to be able to feed his family. And by bringing a DfG Kit home to his wife, his family has saved money they used to spend every month on disposable pads.

As a husband and father, Richard says he is proud to be part of an organization that provides long-lasting health products to girls and women.

Happy Father's Day to Richard — and to all the fathers in the Days for Girls movement! Visit our Facebook page for more stories.

Julius Mbabani is a program officer at the Days for Girls Uganda Office.