Ahmed Didaati
For Patricia Nakayima, returning to Bussi Island was more than a community visit.
It was a return home.
The BBS Terefayina health reporter, who was born and raised on the island, spent her birthday with schoolgirls as she led a menstrual hygiene outreach, turning a personal celebration into a day of giving, health education and encouragement.
Nakayima was joined by friends, volunteers and medical professionals who travelled to Bussi to reach young girls with menstrual products and practical information about their health and wellbeing.
Two schools, one message
The team visited Bussi Secondary School and Good Day Infant and Primary School, where girls received sanitary pads, socks and sneakers.
But the outreach was not simply about handing out supplies.
Doctors and volunteers spent time with the girls, explaining how to use sanitary pads properly, maintain personal hygiene and manage menstruation safely and confidently.
The conversations also opened a wider discussion about the pressures young girls can face as they grow up, including early sexual relationships, transactional sex and early marriage.
“Know your worth”
One of the strongest messages came from Nakayima herself.
Speaking from her own experience, she encouraged the girls not to allow gifts, food or money from men to become a reason for sexual relationships.
She warned them about situations where a man may offer something as simple as chips, chicken or money, while expecting sexual access in return.
Her advice was direct: do not trade your future for a temporary gift.
Nakayima presented her own journey as an example, telling the girls that she made choices that allowed her to concentrate on building her life and career.
Today, she works in television journalism.
Her message was that the girls should protect their dignity, stay focused on education and believe that they can build independent futures.
When asking for pads becomes difficult
The outreach also brought attention to a quieter problem inside some homes.
Some girls live with their fathers, and according to the concerns raised during the outreach, embarrassment or fear can make it difficult for them to ask for sanitary pads when they begin their periods.
- For a teenage girl, saying “I need pads” can sometimes feel uncomfortable particularly when there is nobody at home she feels free to discuss menstruation with.
That is why the organisers combined the distribution of pads with open conversations about menstrual health.
The message was that menstruation is a normal biological process and girls should be able to ask for help without shame.
A birthday shared with children
Amid the health conversations and donations, the day also became a celebration.
Nakayima cut her birthday cake with the children, who joined her in a moment filled with smiles and excitement.
For the girls, the cake was an unexpected part of a day that had already brought them sanitary products, clothing items and advice from health professionals.
For Nakayima, it offered a chance to celebrate her life by reconnecting with the community that shaped her childhood.
The girl from Bussi who became a television journalist
Nakayima’s connection to the island gives the campaign a personal dimension.
She was born and raised in Bussi, but today she works as a health reporter at BBS Terefayina. Her public profile identifies her as a BBS Terefayina health reporter and television news anchor.
Her professional journey was also shaped by journalism and public interest reporting. She has contributed to reporting on social and health issues, including work published through Ugandan media platforms.
Returning to Bussi as a journalist and community advocate meant speaking to girls who are growing up in the same environment she once knew as a child.
The symbolism was difficult to miss.
She came back not simply to tell a story, but to become part of it.
More than pads
Menstrual hygiene remains a wider public health and education issue in Uganda. Research has linked difficulties in menstrual management to factors including the cost of menstrual products, access to water and sanitation, privacy, stigma and the pressure to hide menstruation.
That makes the Bussi outreach significant beyond the number of pads distributed.
The doctors and volunteers provided information. Nakayima provided encouragement. The donations provided immediate practical support.
Together, they created a space where girls could ask questions, learn about their bodies and speak about issues that are often kept private.
A different kind of birthday
By the end of the visit, Nakayima’s birthday had taken on a different meaning.
There were no elaborate celebrations far from home.
Instead, there were schoolgirls, doctors, volunteers, teachers, donated supplies and a birthday cake shared with children.
For a woman who grew up on Bussi Island and now works in television, the day offered a simple message to the girls she met:
Your beginning does not have to determine your ending.
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This organization is becoming one of the essential influence in island to the female students, so keep on advertising more in different places in uganda .