'Us, for Our Own':
Women Create Menstrual Pain Reliever ‘To Keep Schoolgirls Going’
Written by: Rhonet Atwiine. Photography by Elisha Kizito
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Nakazi (Not real name) clutches her lower abdomen as another wave of pain grips her body. The 32-year-old has endured excruciating menstrual cramps since her first period, about twenty years ago.
For as long as she can remember, every month, her world has stopped for 7 days. Yet, each cycle seems more painful than the last.
“Some days, I can barely get out of bed. I miss work, I can’t do any chores, and sometimes, I just feel like no one understands,” she says as she reaches for a newly found balm, a herbal alternative to painkillers.
The balm, called Visanne, is an invention from her very community of Mayembe, in Mpigi, district, located 37 kilometers west of Uganda’s capital Kampala.
It is pioneered by She Deserves Uganda, a women-led social enterprise distilling local features to address menstrual challenges, especially among women in last-mile communities.
It is made out of locally grown avocado, mint, rosemary, eucalyptus, and lavender. When applied, helps to relax the cramping muscles as well as reduce inflammation.
“Our product is an idea conceived by women who understand the depth of this pain. And we want to expand further to move from pain to finding a lasting solution to menstrual challenges across the country,” says Jackline Birungi, the Founder at She Deserves.
Jackline Birungi speaks to Solutions Now Africa from the She Deserves Laboratories. Photo by Kizito Elisha.
Nakazi has now been diagnosed with stage three endometriosis, and her pain may be permanent because her menstrual pain wasn’t managed at the right time. Vissane offers her temporary relief until she is able to afford surgery.
She Deserves Uganda, is supporting older women with whom menstruation has caused permanent damage like Nakazi, and helping young girls manage their way through the cramp relief droppers.
The ingredients of this plant-based oil is grown by a group of women farmers, in which they benefit in two fold; as suppliers and users of the end product.
The company then extracts the oil which is enhanced by other ingredients to relieve the pain. A 10-milliliter bottle goes for Uganda shillings 5000, just slightly above $1, and can last a minimum of six months.
The money generated meets operational costs, pays the women farmers, and keeps the women-only unit going.
Vissane therefore is an aromatherapy natural remedy that helps relax the cramping muscles as well as reducing inflammation. The social enterprise runs a distribution unit that targets schoolgirls, the new victims of the unsparing pain.
Extracted Avocado oil, a key ingredient in the making of the cramps-relief oil. Photo by Elisha Kizito.
Period pain is a normalized condition in Uganda. Though it disenfranchises 79% of women and girls from actively participating in socio-economic engagements monthly, very few would seek medical opinion or redress even on treatable conditions.
However, at the core of this challenge is the sad fact that menstruation remains a deeply stigmatized topic in many cultures and communities. It is defined as a deeply concealed “female secret” whose challenges are not open for discussion let alone getting into a public agenda.
This silence means that when women and girls start menstruating, they often have little knowledge of how to manage it properly. Many do not know about sanitary products, menstrual pain, or proper hygiene practices, leading to infections and discomfort.
“Every time my friend had her period, she was mocked and laughed at. So, when I started menstruating, I chose to keep it a secret, says 13-year-old schoolgoing Jesica Nassali.
This social construction is also pitting girls against education. A 2025 Auditor General report shows that six in ten (64%) female learners have been absent from school because of menstruation.
This is also because the school ecosystem does not take care of menstrual health (MH) needs.
Although the Ministry of Education plays a role in promoting menstrual health in schools, the government has not allocated the required 42 billion UGX, just 0.05% of the 72 trillion UGX budget for FY 2025/26, required to address the high levels of menstruation-related school absenteeism and dropout.
A cramp relief dropper ready for distribution. Photo by Elisha Kizito.
Besides the shortage of sanitary pads and hygiene facilities for menstruation, menstrual pain continues to be a significant issue for women and girls. Menstrual symptoms like lower back pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, headaches, fatigue, and dizziness make it hard for girls to attend school.
Jackline Birungi, the founder of She Deserves, explains that the aim of targeting schoolgirls is to fully manage the issue of menstruation, from access to sanitary pads, to menstrual pain, and information.
“I realized that even with access to menstrual pads, girls were still missing school, not because of affordability, but because of severe pain. They lack effective cramp relief alternatives, and many rely on painkillers that don’t always work and have side effects. I wanted to provide a safer, more effective solution,” says Birungi.
The initiative therefore runs community outreaches in refugee settlements, low-resource communities, and in schools where they teach girls how to make reusable pads, menstrual hygiene offering them a sustainable way to manage their periods.
“Our goal is to ensure that no girl is left behind because of something as natural as menstruation. We need to break the stigma, provide education, and ensure that every girl has enough information about the topic as well as access to menstrual products and pain relief,” she says.
Maria Namuyomba, 19, is one of the users, she says the oil aromatherapy has not only relieved her menstrual pain but kept her in school without worrying.
“I would spend nearly 20,000 UGX on painkillers every month. Now, I only spend 5,000 UGX for the whole year. I can go about my classes when I’m cramping. I’m happy,” she shares.
The making
The making of this dropper begins long before it reaches the shelves. It starts in the gardens, with the farmers, women, who nurture the herbs and fruits that form the foundation of the solution.
Charles Busuulwa, a product developer at She Deserves, explains that after harvesting, the fruit is left to ripen, then cut, mashed into a paste, dried, and pressed to extract oil. This oil is then blended with essential herbal extracts to create a soothing cramp-relief solution.
“We ensure that the dropper is 100% organic, with no preservatives that could compromise its natural benefits because we don’t want to replicate the painkillers already on the market. That’s why we work closely with women to grow avocados organically, without chemical fertilizers, to ensure that quality is controlled right from the source,” he shares.
However, the journey of making this dropper doesn’t go without hurdles. One of the biggest challenges faced is sourcing raw materials. Some of the plants needed for extraction of oil are not commonly grown by local farmers.
“Most of the farmers do not know how to grow some of these herbs, which means you have to train them and also follow-up on their farming practices which takes time. But if these plants were already being grown at scale, production would be much faster,” Birungi says.
In addition, while successful testing of the cramp relief dropper has been completed with national laboratories, getting the product officially registered as a drug under the National Drug Authority is still a long and complex process.
Jackline Birungi arranges the droppers before packaging. Photo by Elisha Kizito.
Since its inception, the organization has reached out to over 10,000 girls across 50 schools, providing them with menstrual health education and information and solutions. The model has also distributed over free 1,540 units of the cramp relief droppers, created over 578 reusable pads through its Stitch 4 Her program.
While many organizations have made efforts to address menstrual health challenges, more needs to be done. The government, schools, and communities must collaborate to provide free or affordable menstrual products, educate girls about menstrual health, and pain.
Dr. Kizza emphasizes the importance of parental involvement in menstrual health education, regardless of gender.
“The problem is that many parents shy away from discussing reproductive health. As a result, some girls are completely unprepared when they start menstruating. This lack of knowledge affects their well-being, leaving them to rely on information from friends, which isn’t always accurate,” he explains.
For girls like Nakazi, and Namuyomba, access to menstrual pain solutions could mean the difference between staying at work, in school and falling behind.
But, until period poverty is addressed, millions of Ugandan girls will continue to struggle in silence, missing out on the education and opportunities they deserve.
“Women, please don’t wait for menstrual pain to escalate. It’s a serious issue, and I wish I had known earlier. I wouldn’t be facing surgeries now. Early treatment is crucial to managing the condition before it worsens,” Nakazi urges.
We are Africa's first solution journalism newsroom producing immersive stories on innovations, models and systems that are working around Africa. We also work to produce alternative solutions stories to challenge negative narratives about the continent.