Breaking the Stigma: Empowering Women in Kajo Keji Through Dignity Kits

In collaboration with Divine Seeds of Dignity (DSD), a community and self-help women’s organization in Kajo Keji, ACROSS recently trained 33 women and teenage mothers in the production of dignity kits. This initiative aimed to address critical challenges faced by communities affected by the prolonged conflict between SPLA-IG and SPLA-IO in 2016, which devastated schools, health facilities, trading centers, road networks, and homes. The conflict also displaced countless families and severely disrupted livelihoods.

Even after the signing of the revitalized peace agreement, the community continues to grapple with numerous challenges. Limited access to basic services, land disputes, difficulties in farming and housing, unemployment, and school dropouts among children especially girls—persist. Adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse among youth, and mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder have further compounded the struggles of daily life.

One pressing issue is the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products. Seventy percent of women and girls in South Sudan[1] lack adequate menstrual hygiene supplies, with many in rural areas unable to afford or access disposable pads. This forces adolescent girls and women to use unsafe alternatives or forego sanitary pads altogether, exacerbating the challenges they face.

To address this, ACROSS and DSD organized a two-day program in November to raise awareness about menstrual hygiene and teach participants how to create reusable sanitary pads. Reusable pads are a cost-effective and sustainable solution, offering months or even years of use when properly maintained. By providing an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable pads, this initiative also contributes to reducing waste.

This training is more than a practical skill—it is an empowerment tool. Learning to produce reusable sanitary pads equips women and adolescent mothers with valuable knowledge, boosting their self-confidence and offering them a means of improving their lives. In addition to breaking the taboos surrounding menstruation, the program helps foster a sense of dignity and resilience in a community striving to rebuild and heal.

By promoting menstrual hygiene education and resourcefulness, ACROSS and DSD are supporting the women and girls of Kajo Keji to overcome barriers and take steps toward a brighter, healthier future.

[1] https://inside.fifa.com/womens-football/news/fifa-launch-menstrual-health-and-education-project-in-south-sudan