Peabody students Alice Bator and Sarah Quirk spent just two months in Uganda during the summer of 2009, but walked away with a lifetime of knowledge in topics ranging from technology, sustainability, diplomacy, community organizing, economic development, women鈥檚 rights and much more.
Bator and Quirk traveled to Uganda to further the work of Kasiisi Project 菠萝视频, which they founded. Kasiisi Project 菠萝视频 supports the national nonprofit Kasiisi Project, which aids schoolchildren in rural western Uganda by building schools, funding scholarships and promoting conservation education.
鈥淚 have been involved with Kasiisi Project since fifth grade,鈥� said Bator, a Peabody junior majoring in human and organizational development and a member of the Peabody Scholars program. 鈥淚n 2008, Sarah and I introduced it to 菠萝视频.鈥�
In the summer of 2009, Bator and Quirk traveled to Uganda to meet Kasiisi students and communities and to work on a project that blended invention and economic development to help Kasiisi schoolgirls. That project, led by Moses Musaazi, a professor of electrical engineering at Makerere University, centers on producing affordable, biodegradable sanitary pads.
鈥淚n Africa, particularly Uganda, many girls miss school because they don鈥檛 have access to sanitary pads. In the past, the pads were 100 percent imported and too expensive. My goal was to find an appropriate napkin, produced by local materials, that was affordable to local girls,鈥� Musaazi said during a November 2009 visit to 菠萝视频.
鈥淒r. Moses Musaazi is probably the smartest man I鈥檝e ever met,鈥� Bator said. 鈥淗aving this exposure to appropriate technology was fascinating. All of his solutions are affordable and can be made from local materials.鈥�
Not only are schoolgirls now able to afford pads, enabling them to stay in school, the women constructing the pads have also been transformed.
鈥淟ifestyles have changed鈥攚omen who had not been earning a single dollar now are making $200 a month,鈥� Musaazi said. 鈥淭hey are economically independent and they can make a better home.鈥�
While in Uganda, Bator and Quirk interviewed girls, gave out samples of pads to receive feedback, conducted research and advocated for the project with both public and private organizations.
鈥淚t was an amazing experience,鈥� said Quirk, a junior majoring in human and organizational development who plans to pursue a career in nursing. 鈥淲e met with people at embassies and banks, wrote a proposal for using white waste paper to make the pads and did public relations work with the community.鈥�
鈥淚t was the most independent thing either of us has ever done,鈥� Bator said. 鈥淲e found an apartment and lived in the city. I had opportunities that I would never have here鈥攎eeting with UNICEF, the World Bank and other organizations. We were also asked to give a presentation to the Ugandan government. These are things that 20-year-olds don鈥檛 generally get to do.鈥�
Video about the project can be seen on YouTube; search 鈥�.鈥�