GNA – The Glorious Women Linkage (Glowlink), a non-profit organization in Ghana, has donated sanitary pads to over 90 girls at Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.
The gesture formed part of the organization’s objective to ensure that the beneficiaries maintained good personal hygiene, especially during their menstrual period.
Glowlink, which seeks to empower and support needy children, women, and young girls in less privileged communities, also used the occasion to educate the girls on reproductive health.
Beneficiaries of the gesture were girls from the Jacobu R/C Junior High School (JHS), Jacobu Experimental JHS, Jacobu Senior High Technical School, Jacobu Methodist JHS, Jacobu SDA JHS, Jacobu Experimental JHS, among others.
Ms. Rosemond Quainoo, the President of Glowlink, explained that menstrual hygiene management was a very important aspect in the life of girls and women.
However, the management of such a reproductive cycle, according to her, was quite challenging for menstruating girls, especially those in deprived communities.
She said most girls missed school activities when they were menstruating, because they could not afford or get access to sanitary pads.
“The non-availability of pads makes a lot of girls feel uncomfortable when they are in their menstrual period,” the Glowlink President observed, adding that most often, these girls were at risk of infection from using unhygienic products such as rags, newspapers, toilet rolls, among others.
Ms. Quainoo pointed out that the distribution of sanitary pads and education on reproductive health were critical in helping to build the confidence of the girl-child.
Glowlink, she assured, would continue to engage in such gestures while sensitizing girls on their sexual lives to enable them to make informed decisions on reproductive health.
Mrs. Vera Nti, a nurse at the Kwadaso SDA Hospital, also enlightened the students on their reproductive health by teaching them about the menstrual cycle.
According to her, a lot of changes would take place when a girl started to experience menstruation.
She encouraged the girls to always bath twice and regularly change their sanitary pads to help avoid infections.
She demonstrated the use of sanitary pads to the girls, with the view to equipping them with a fair knowledge about it.
Mrs. Nti pleaded with parents to educate the girl-child on menstruation, stressing that if they saw any abnormal changes during menstruation as pertained to their wards, then they should report to the hospital.
Nana Anim Korkor II, the Gyaasehene of Jacobu, advised the girls to stay chaste till marriage to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
He pleaded with other organizations to also take up this course to help girls in remote areas appreciate issues relating to reproductive health
GNA