A non-government organization, Obiianuju-Nnenna Media Foundation in collaboration with Sahkola Empowerment Foundation have organised the maiden edition of the Girl Alive Initiative (GAI) program where they sensitised over 300 girls of Government Day Secondary School, Karu, FCT-Abuja on how to maintain hygiene during their menstrual cycle.
The event which took place on the 13th of June 2023, witnessed the donation of sanitary pads, detergents and bathing soaps to the girls.
Speaking during the event, the Convener, Obianuju Asika said the objective is to contribute to a healthier and more enlightened Africa by supporting period and personal hygiene awareness for girls.
She revealed that the idea came after her mum’s funeral. “My mum and I seem to have a bit of similarities in what we like. She likes impacting the lives of girls and women and I also like doing the same thing, so after she passed, I decided to do something that will keep her memory alive and push part of what she believed in.
“We are targeting two audiences, the girl-child and women. For the female child, our focus is on hygiene, health, education, mentorship and skill acquisition. While for women we are focusing on diabetes, blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, financial management program and skill acquisition.”
Speaking further, Obianuju said she decided to advocate for good health after her mum passed from high blood pressure and diabetes. “I remember when I was young, when we had a bit of issue with finance, for period health we had to use cloth. So I now decided we could also help a lot of girls against it. So that is where the whole idea came from.”
She said the Foundation has organised other training in the past year. “Last year, we organised a training for women on the digital lifestyle, which is part of what we are doing on skill acquisition. We started officially last year. This year we are going to be doing a lot of activities. In the long run we want to see that all our objectives are met, as much as possible. We want to see that we have more healthy and enlightened girls who are going to be mentored by people, to be confident in who they are as they move into the world.”
Also speaking, The School Counsellor, Mrs Charity Ayaokole expressed delight in the initiative.
“I really appreciate this partnership with Obiianuju-Nnenna Media Foundation. It is important that people come to partner with us to help us educate the girls on how to handle their menstrual cycle when it comes and how to sustain hygiene when it comes.
“Most of these girls are just getting to experience it. Some of them learn the lessons of hygiene and menstrual cycle from their peers here in school.
Ayaokole speaking further urged parents and guidance to pay more attention to the needs of their girl child. She said, “Guardians should know the needs of these girls. They should know that aside from eating and taking care of their children, the girls have other needs. We have been doing a lot in this regard on our PTA platforms.
“We are appealing to all parents and guardians to do more in educating the them, and provide them with the necessary things they need during their cycle.”
Ayaokole however called on the government to do more by creating awareness and sensitizing the public on the needs of the girlchild.
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