Glasgow Straight Talk Uganda Trip

Abstract

This summer, the Glasgow Straight Talk Society sent a group of eight second year medical students for a five-week outreach project in the Eastern Districts of Uganda. There, we educated young people about sexual and reproductive health and rights. We started fundraising in September of 2024, organising events such as bake sales, pub quizzes and mock exams. Later on, we were also granted the University of Glasgow’s Chancellor’s Fund, to help us with our project. Then on the 13th of June 2025, we set off!

After orientation in Kampala, we set off to the first district, Bugiri. To teach, we started off by performing a skit to the whole school, often outside, under trees, to the children and young adults, who were often in their thousands. After our skit, we broke into classes and started our face-to-face sessions. In these classes, we went over general topics in more depth and then gave the students opportunities to ask their own questions. This was by either putting their hand up or writing it down on paper we gave them. We also did condom demonstrations and used visual aids (like female reproductive tract diagrams) to convey our message, as we were very aware of the language barrier. 

After completing our second district, Iganga, we estimated we spoke to 12,386    students, although this is probably a lot more! We collected all the written questions we received, which gave us insight on what topics were most asked about.  Menstruation made up the overwhelming majority of questions asked (23%), some were basic questions about physiology and their personal menstrual cycle variation, whilst many were on period poverty. We know that period poverty was the most pressing problem young women faced. Many missed school for the entirety of their period or simply dropped out after their period began.

Overall, the trip was incredibly rewarding. The Straight Talk Foundation do incredible work for young people in Uganda, equipping them with the knowledge to lead healthier and more empowered lives. Despite some of the students coming from very difficult environments, they were incredibly resilient and inspiring. I know the entire team return home with a fresh perspective and sense of gratitude for the privileges we have.

We hope that, in reading this article, we can inspire a new team of second years to consider joining Straight Talk and and hopefully return to Uganda in coming years! We would also like to use this opportunity to thank the Straight Talk Foundation, The University of Glasgow, the schools and teachers and most importantly, the students.