Daily Chronicle
A Bauchi based Non Governmental Organisation, Women, Child, Youth Health And Education Initiative WCY (H&EI) has embarked on a one-day sensitisation of women and adolescent girls of Rugan Jira in Bauchi Local Government on good menstrual hygiene practice.
Speaking on the sideline of the sensitisation, Mrs Zainab Mohammed, the Executive Director, WCY (H&EI), said the gesture was to commemorate the International Day for Menstrual Hygiene which took place on every May 28.
According to her, the organisation found it necessary to embark on the programme because most parents especially, in the rural communities knew little or nothing about menstrual hygiene.
She added that the organisation with the motto “Empowering Communities, Ensuring Healthy life”, realised that lack of menstrual hygiene lead to various types of infections in women and adolescent girls, hence, the sensitisation.
“The objective of this is to create awareness to our women and adolescent girls on what menstrual hygiene is all about.
“How they will take care of themselves in terms of personal hygiene and how to take care of their undies.
“Some of the parents in the rural communities don’t even know when their daughters start their menstruation.
“The moment the girl tells her mother she is menstruating, the mother doesn’t know how to educate her.
“However, lack of this hygiene could cause infections and that is why we say it is worthy to come here and tell them so that they can improve on their personal hygiene”, she said.
Mohammed also explained that those who could not afford to buy sanitary pads were taught how to make use of clean cloth.
She said they were taught how to wash and spread the cloth in the sun because the sunrey tends to destroy microorganisms instead of drying it in a cool place where those organisms flourish.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Amina Jubril, the Women Leader of the community, who appreciated the organisation for the training, said they had no knowledge on menstrual hygiene in the past.
She added that they were well informed on the subject matter and promised to put all the knowledge gathered during the training into practice.
The organisation also distributed 50 sanitary pads as well as detergents to the participants.