CHANGING THE NARRATIVES AND BREAKING THE SILENCE IN THE LIVES OF MENSTRUATING TEENAGE GIRLS; BY @njiatanga..29/04/2021
INTRODUCTION
Steem greetings fellow steemians of the #steemwomensclub. Few weeks ago(26days to be exact) to i was here with a talk on menstrual hygiene and how an effective management can greatly enhance the efficacy of woman's life see post Here. Today i humbly wish to put up this content in relation to Menstruation, Menstrual Hygiene Management and the Menstrual Hygiene Day which is celebrated on the 28 of May each year. As a Gender Activist that i am, am very keen to setting the paste and creating impacts on the lives of the underprivileged in our communities. For this years Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration, our project focus is geared toward a more remote area targeting teenage 300 girls whom have been heavily affected by the current socio-political unrest in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon for 4 years running now. These teenage girls have been effectively cut off from the privileges of a norm living as a woman and are heavily exposed and are victims of all sorts of violence.
Menstrual hygiene is integral to women's health and has a lasting impact on women's education, livelihoods and security: the keystones to their empowerment. Roughly 400 million teenage girls around the world have their period every day. However, in many places, such as in the case of Ndu sub division, Ndonga Mantung division in the North West Region of Cameroon, taboos and stigma associated with menstruation, combined with an overall culture of silence around the topic, limit the ability of teenage girls to fully and equally participate in the society, undermining their overall social status and self-esteem and putting their health at risk. This project seeks to leverage the upcoming Menstrual Hygiene day; May 28th 2021 to organize activities aimed at bridging the gaps on education and acquired knowledge on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), availability and accessibility of menstrual hygiene sanitary kits and Gender Based Violence (GBV) related practices on menstruating teenage girls through trainings on Menstrual Hygiene Management targeting 300 teenage girls and GBV awareness workshops targeting some 15 policy makers of the various communities that make up Ndu sub division Ndonga Mantung Division; north west region of Cameroon with the aim of changing their narratives and getting them to the light of making and adopting inclusive policies that supports for an equal environment where these teenage girls can be able to live, learn, lead and strive in the community;
Changing narratives towards building an inclusive society for menstruating teenage girls
The activities of this project is expected to run for 9 days including the 28th of May which we shall organize activities to commemorate the Menstrual Hygiene Day. Other activities of the project includes; creation of focal points for continuous Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) education and GBV prevention and reporting, training of teenage girls on the production of reusable sanitary pads.
Menstrual hygiene is an issue that every girl of reproductive age is faced with in Cameroon. Teenage girls in the communities of Ndu Sub Division are insufficiently informed about reproductive health in general and in particular about the process of menstruation as well as the physical and psychological changes associated with puberty and coming of age. In the North West region of Cameroon, the issue of menstruation is rarely mentioned publicly, due to cultural taboos. Furthermore there is no mandate in policies made to help these teenage girls in managing their menstruation. Neither are there gender-friendly toilets facilities, nor is there readiness on the part of the policy makers to assist menstruating girls through the provision of advice or information.
Due to the damaging cultural norms, believes and taboos surrounding menstruation in Cameroon, many teenage girls in the Ndu sub division struggle monthly to manage their periods.
Hope Alive Association Cameroon(HAACAM) making available and accessible reusable sanitary pads to teenage girls
The project will increase knowledge and awareness of 300 teenage girls on their menstrual health and how to manage their periods properly following using good hygienic methods.
The project will increase the capacity, knowledge and awareness of some 15 community policy makers and more on the dangers of GBV as it poses some negative effects on the lives of menstruating teenage girls.
A Human Rights Based Approach to Programming will be enhanced among the community policy makers and planning systems focusing on the need for inclusion, participation of teenage girls in all programs directly affecting their lives.
At least 300 teenage girls will be donated reusable sanitary pads as a means for them to better manage their menstruation.
Through our radio talks and interactive debates on air, we intend to educate more than 2000 inhabitants of the sub division Menstrual Hygiene Management and GBV.
Focal points will be established for continuous MHM education and GBV reporting and response through referrals.
Three reusable sanitary pad banks will be created with each containing 400 reusable pads each.
Thank you all for reading, i shall be coming in here with feedbacks on activities carried out
CC
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@njiatanga Wow!! This is indeed a powerful project and would be helpful to our teenage girls ,most of our teenage girls are really ignorant of some facts about their mentrual hygiene and some tends to keep their challenges to themselves thinking its awful to let some persons know about it especially their male relatives or friends but i believe this project will enlighten them and correct or help in the areas some mothers or female guardians has failed in their duties,i will be glad to be part of this move, we need to ease our young girls off some menstrual burdens
@njiatanga this is a massive project. Over the years women have been suffering in silence without anyone to talk to them about how to care for their personal hygiene. Some parents have failed in this particular aspect in girl child up bringing. I applaud this project for it will create a positive and sustainable impact in the lives of girl children. So many used to be shy when menstruation is mention but with this they can now sit up and care for themselves. Courage and I volunteer to be part of this campaign
#twopercent #cameroon
Thank you very much @tenguhatanga, i do appreciate you being a volunteer for this project. More updates will be coming in the days ahead.
Thank you.
I'm waiting then