Group embarks on community service to educate the girl child on menstrual hygiene
A group of aspiring philanthropists and students from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State, embarked on a Community Service visitation on Saturday, November 6th 2021 to the Government Girls Secondary School (GSS) in Jimeta.
According to two students of the University, Khadija Abdullahi Jika and Sheriff Sanni-Balogun who disclosed newsmen, that the aim of the visitation was to give back to the community they have grown to be a part of through educating the girl child on a major day to day personal hygiene routines with an emphasis on menstrual hygiene.
Read Also: 2022 Budget: Gombe Govt Proposes N154.6bn
However, the students were taught and lectured on how to make use of reusable sanitary pads using materials provided to them. They were also taken through hygiene and postmenstrual routines like how to perform the ritual cleansing, especially for the Muslim students.
Khadija Jika, who is one of the organisers said that the campaign was inspired by the state of the economy which has been a reason for the increase in prices of sanitary pads.
She said, “As we all know, the prices of things have been increasing in the country and the government is not really doing enough to counter that. The cost of sanitary products has gone up drastically. The students of this school could barely afford them when the prices were lower, talk of now. We all know that improper menstrual care could lead to cases of fungal or bacterial infections of the reproductive tract. We most definitely cannot sit by and watch that happen. This is what inspired us to launch this campaign”.
Read Also: 2 men arraigned for allegedly abducting, defiling physically challenged girl
The group partnered with the Al-Fulqan skill acquisition centre to gather the materials needed and a lecture was given by the founder of the centre, Ms Hadiza Aji.
During the visitation, the team held interactive sessions with students so as to help them know and understand their current situation. The students were eager to dispense their concerns, reality and challenges to the centre.
Through the help of the anonymous donors, the group was able to acquire and give out provisions and materials to be used in making the reusable sanitary pads and paid off school fees for some of the girl orphans.
The group thanked all those that made the project a success, saying that they hope to carry out more support programmes for the community and also provide awareness for the many students in need of help.
