Leicestershire entrepreneur takes on period poverty with new project
A Leicestershire social enterprise is looking to tackle Ugandan period poverty, in conjunction with the Uganda Red Cross Society.
In 2017, Dr Nik Kotecha OBE and Moni Kotecha initiated the Randal Charitable Foundation. The duo set out with the aim of directly preserving one million lives and enhancing the well-being of individuals in need.
The foundation’s grant funding has made it possible for a social enterprise project to launch in Namakwa, Uganda’s Mukono district.
With this new project, the factory is set to produce 200,000 reusable sanitary pads annually, providing support to girls who might miss up to 20% of the school year due to inadequate period protection.
Women and girls will also be trained in producing and selling sanitary pads by learning business skills such as business administration and marketing, while also ensuring the factory’s future success.
On August 11, the Keep a Girl In School (KAGIS) Manufacturing Plant was officially opened by Dr Kotecha, the foundation’s chairman, along with representatives from the Uganda Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda.
Dr Kotecha, who was born in Uganda and came to the United Kingdom as a child refugee in 1972, played a key role in making this project happen.
