“I used to miss school for five days every month. Now I don’t miss a single day.” Kulsuma Hashu, a 13-year-old in grade 7 at Sidehafage Primary School in Ethiopia’s Afar region, remembers how different life was before Imagine1day arrived in her village. Kulsuma says, “We didn’t have sanitary pads, and I was always worried about the shame and isolation that came with missing school because of my period. Thanks to the KFW-funded UNICEF project that Imagine1day is implementing, I now receive sanitary pads regularly. “Now, I never miss school. I don’t worry anymore. I can attend class with confidence and study for my dreams.”
The changes in Kulsuma’s life reach far beyond sanitary pads. Through Imagine1day’s life skills training and gender club activities, she and her peers have learned about harmful traditional practices like abduction and female genital mutilation (FGM). “We learned that FGM can cause serious problems during childbirth, even death for the mother and baby. We have also learned that abduction steals a girl’s dreams and turns her into a baby machine while her friends are in school. It destroys her confidence.” Kulsuma admits that before, she never saw it as her responsibility to stop harmful practices in her community. “I used to say, ‘It’s not my business,’ even if I saw my friends quarrel. But now, I help them get along.”
Kulsuma participating in gender club
She and her friends have started making jewelry and other creative items, building skills that inspire their community. They have also taken the awareness sessions they received from Imagine1day and cascaded them to parents and neighbors. “We taught them that chores at home should be shared fairly between boys and girls. Before, my brother would play outside while I did all the chores. Now we share everything equally,” says Kulsuma.
She giggles as she shares how the community’s mindset has changed: Kulsuma says, “Boys making ‘Injera’ used to be teased. People would say it’s a girl’s duty. But now, boys and girls cook together. We all help each other. The results are tangible: female students, once frequently absent, now come to school on time alongside the boys, as morning chores are shared equally in their homes.” Kulsuma’s gratitude overflows for those who made this change possible. “I am very grateful to KFW, UNICEF, and Imagine1day for supporting us. They have changed our lives.”
But she has one humble request that would make a big difference: “We have a Menstrual Hygiene Management room, but we don’t have a gender club office. Every time we need to meet, we wait for a classroom to be free. If we had our own office, we could plan better and help more girls.” Kulsuma comes from a large farming family with four brothers and five sisters. Her favorite subject is mathematics, and she dreams of becoming an engineer one day.