FlowReady

Every year, millions of girls encounter their first period without knowing what to expect. Due to pervasive cultural stigmas and taboos around menstruation, this moment often comes with shame, fear, and silence. Even worse, it is sometimes perceived as a signal that girls are ready for marriage and childbearing.

I founded FlowReady in 2020 in my home country of Uganda to change this story and ensure every girl understands her body, feels empowered to ask questions, and is supported throughout her journey into adolescence.

As the Founder and CEO of FlowReady, I lead my small organization’s efforts to combat period poverty[1] in Uganda.

With a primary focus on girls who have yet to experience their first period, FlowReady seeks to combat misinformation and harmful cultural norms and provide hygiene products, related supplies, and education. Each girl in our program receives washable cloth pads, underwear, toilet paper, soap, and the FlowReady Period Guide to help them manage menstruation with dignity. In some households with multiple menstruating daughters, girls are forced to share pads or use soil, mud, or banana fibers. FlowReady makes sure they have enough products so that each girl can have her own personal supply. Extra pads and other supplies are stocked at schools of operation where girls can access them when needed.

“Cases of absenteeism have reduced and girls are not shying away and even the boys are helping them. I experienced a scenario in my class when a boy came to the help of a girl with a sweater. Additionally, girls are staying in school without fear. They are now promoting their personal hygiene. We also set up a safe room for them.”

FlowReady also works to dismantle the dangerous association between menarche (the onset of menstruation) and girls’ perceived readiness for marriage and childbearing. In Uganda, 40% of women who are currently 20–49 years old were married before they turned 18; 11% were married before the age of 15. One-fifth of 17-year-olds have already had a baby or are pregnant for the first time.

FlowReady combines menstrual hygiene management with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education. The organization addresses the needs of young girls holistically, offering essential products and empowering knowledge. This ensures that girls are equipped to manage their periods confidently and helps them make informed decisions about their bodies and futures.

Ongoing conversations with people in the communities where FlowReady works remind me how deeply menstrual stigma is woven into everyday life in Uganda and how essential trust in the messenger is to changing harmful norms. For that reason, all of the program’s team members are from the communities we serve.

In 2025, FlowReady distributed 250 menstrual kits; reached 96 primary school girls through menstrual health education sessions; engaged 30 boys in conversations about menstrual health and respect; and held feedback sessions with 45 girls to ensure their voices are guiding the organization’s work. Volunteers also made six home visits to engage families directly in order to help create more supportive environments where girls can manage their periods with confidence and without fear or shame.

At FlowReady, we believe periods should never be a reason for girls to miss school, feel ashamed, or face early marriage and childbearing. We are proud to work toward a future where menstruation is seen as a normal, healthy part of life.

“I used to miss four days of school every month. Now it’s only one — and sometimes none.”

Learn more at flowready.org and follow FlowReady on Instagram, Bluesky, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

^[1] Defined by the UN as “the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and education and awareness to manage menstrual health”

Email Florence at fblondel@populationconnection.org

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