Young adolescent girls who are displaced from their homes due to terrorism, crisis and poverty and forced to live in IDPs camps suffer from lack of proper care, support and even advice during their menstrual flow hereby making them vulnerable and susceptible to vaginal infections as well as unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. This project aims to provide sanitary pads and hygiene education to 50 girls in a school within the Bama/Gwoza IDP camp and nearby community schools
This pilot project is geared toward providing free sanitary pads through the construction of sanitary pads bank to young adolescent girls in Bama/Gwoza internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, Abuja and neighboring rural community schools for the period of six months. The availability of a bank of sanitary products will improve school attendance and allow the girls to remain in school for longer. Many girls even drop out of school when they start menstruating due to lack of sanitary products.
Hand-drawn representations on cardboard paper to teach about personal hygiene and reproductive health will be placed on their classroom walls. Formation of personal hygiene health club with periodic meeting at least twice in every month. Distribution of sanitary pads to beneficiaries monthly and on demand Use of flyers and stickers in English and Hausa languages to disseminate information Interactive session with the key beneficiaries and other community stakeholders.
This project will help these vulnerable girls keep up their school attendance and possibly complete their secondary education. They will stop unsafe practices during their periods and be sensitized on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This project will not only make an immediate positive difference to the lives of girls living in IDP camps, but in the long term, will give them the opportunity to become fully accomplished and educated women.