THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY DOWN!

The goal of the Umoja Social Enterprise Programme is to generate new, financially sustainable forms of impact for the Umoja Centre, create meaningful employment opportunities for our graduates and to empower our youth to break the cycle of poverty. We do this by working at the intersection of profit and purpose.

Umoja has partnered with Days for Girls International as well as a number of external supporters to manufacture and sell low-cost, reusable sanitary pads for girls and women. We also provide high quality menstrual hygiene health education and training to beneficiaries of this programme. Each reusable kit distributed lasts up to three years; the use of these kits helps keep girls in school during their period, which translated to 180 extra days at school for females, reducing the gender academic performance gap. With better attendance and performance, girls have more opportunity for academic success, thereby creating greater access to higher education and employment, further breaking down the cycle of poverty the cycle of poverty.

The non-commercial benefits of producing and selling sanitary pads are numerous. We (a) provide sanitary pads to women on low incomes, (b) address educational inequality for girls and women (c) build networks with other NGOs who act as distributors, (d) provide stable, formal employment for women, with a focus on Umoja’s beneficiaries and (e) raise awareness of the Umoja brand.

The programme may expand to include additional businesses in the future.

If you are interested in purchasing a kit / kits or funding the production of kits for vulnerable women and girls, please contact Margreth Raphael, our Social Entperprise Coordinator: socialenterprise@umojatanzania.o