NEEM Foundation, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to empowering young girls, has distributed sanitary products to over 300 students in Abuja, marking a significant step towards combating period poverty and promoting menstrual hygiene among schoolgirls.
The empowerment initiative was executed in partnership with Regent Schools Abuja, with the event taking place at Junior Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja.
Nancy Oyibo, Head of Legal at NEEM Foundation, stressed the need to break the silence and stigma surrounding menstrual health, advocating for open and normal conversations about the issue.
According to her, empowering women to take charge of their menstrual health is not only essential but transformative.
“We discovered some issues of health as some young girls cannot afford sanitary towels during their period. We thought it was imperative, following the rate of inflation, to help the young ladies, the future of our country,” she said.
She noted that the event marks the foundation’s second sanitary product distribution in Abuja, following similar initiatives in Maiduguri.
She highlighted the target to create a pad bank in schools, as research carried out by the organisation revealed that female students sometimes miss school during their menstrual flow.
She said, “This is just a step to many activities to be carried out in this light. We are going to take this all the way to where it needs to get to and pass on this message so people can understand the effect this has on the education system for young girls.
“We do not want to have girls in situations where they are vulnerable and not proud of something that comes naturally. We want them to come confidently, knowing they have nothing to worry about as they can compete with their male counterparts in school and ensure that they get the best out of it.
“For now, we are engaging mostly the girls as we realised that most of them are shy to discuss topics related to menstrual hygiene. So this stage is to have an interaction with them, make them comfortable. This factor made us ensure we have male personnel among us to talk about these issues as a gradual process. Then, subsequently, we include the boys in the discourse.”
During an interactive session with the students, NEEM Legal Assistant, Aliyyah Abdulkadir, charged the students to be agents of change and make concerted efforts to educate others in a bid to break the culture of silence.
Also, the Director/Principal of JSS Jabi 1, Dr. Grace Ifeyinwa Onyeanusi, expressed profound gratitude to NEEM Foundation for the kind gesture, adding that it will go a long way in helping the students maintain hygiene during menstruation.
One of the beneficiaries, a JSS 3 student, Tega Ogaga, expressed her appreciation to NEEM Foundation, disclosing how sometimes she is scared to approach her parents to purchase sanitary towels during menstruation and will have to use a single pad for a long period.
NEEM Foundation is a leading crisis response organisation committed to promoting the protection and well-being of populations and communities living in contexts affected by conflict, violence, and fragility.
