Financial and structural barriers frequently
jeopardize education for girls in rural communities. At Matola Primary School in T/A Matola, Balaka district,
a critical shortage of private sanitary facilities paired with the high cost of
commercial sanitary products created a severe attendance crisis. To break this
cycle of dropouts, the Dutch Albert Schweitzer Foundation (NASF) funded a
comprehensive intervention in 2022 designed to restore dignity, privacy, and
academic continuity for 452 adolescent girls. Four Modern Latrines and 2 private
changing rooms were built to improve general campus hygiene standard and
secure, dedicated rooms constructed specifically for adolescent girls to change
their pads in complete privacy, eliminating the shame and discomfort that
previously forced them to stay home, respectively.