Macedonian Africa Youth Initiative (MAYI)

Started by Christine Nabwire early in 2013, this has grown from a small group of girls – Ladies of Virtue, meeting once a week to talk about sexual and social health, to a much larger group drawn from Macedonian Children’s Outreach Project and the Macedonian Vocational Institute, together with the local community. They meet for two hours to talk about self-esteem, their place in society, pressures they face and sexual issues.

One of the issues they face is the fact that most of the girls in Masese slum cannot afford disposable sanitary towels. As a result they revert to other means such as using rags. This restricts their movement, is less hygienic and often impacts on their attendance at school. In 2014, a team of women with Macedonian Vision Africa (UK) taught Christine Nabwire and MAYI how to make washable sanitary towels. This has transformed the lives of many of the girls who are now sharing this new skill with other girls in Masese. Click here to find out more about sanitary towel workshops in Uganda and in the UK.

Alongside this, MAYI also under takes teaching of sexual and social health into local schools, with girls of 12 and above. Ugandan schools are not legally obliged to deliver any Personal, Social and Health education, so this is invaluable and provided at no cost to the schools.

MAYI are also learning skills in jewellery making with the intention of generating revenue.