The Centre for Young People Development and Poverty Alleviation – CYDPAN has flagged off a state-wide sensitisation of young boys and girls in select secondary schools in Akwa Ibom state, within which course it has also distributed over 200 free sanitary pads to secondary school girls, as well as education and distribution of pamphlets on menstrual hygiene and general information on the different manifestations expected at the age of puberty.
Speaking at the Community Comprehensive Secondary School – CCSS, Four Towns, Uyo, where hundreds of sanitary pads were distributed to underprivileged girls in the school, the program, according to CYDPAN’s director general, Robert Boniface, aims to, among other things, raise awareness on personal hygiene of girls in secondary schools during menstruation.
Robert believes that ensuring access to sanitary pads and sanitation facilities should be given priority to female children in secondary school, as the frightening state of their minds during the early stages of their menstrual seasons, cannot be overemphasised. CYDPAN’s director further noted that these fears by the vulnerable girls are further compounded, especially when their parents and guardians lack the required funds to ensure that their girl children procure all necessary materials to cater for their menstrual needs at the setting in of the puberty age.
Worst of all, Robert notes that the deficiency in proper and accurate information, further leaves innocent girls wondering about the meaning of their altering body metabolisms. He noted that the girls’ perception of the phenomena, at times get further complicated with erroneous stories peddled by ignorant parents and guardians to scare the girl child on the possibilities of getting pregnant by a mere touch from the opposite sex, when they are menstruating or about to menstruate. Robert noted that these wrong information which parents peddle, thinking it is best, as it will help protect their girl children from unwanted pregnancies, are very risky and dangerous, as they expose the girl child to untold traumas of uncertainty and inquisitiveness, as to what is really obtainable in the real world. He noted that the parents themselves stand the risk of losing their girl children’s trust, when they manage to figure out the truth by themselves. These he said leads the girls into making all kinds of experiments, since at this point, they believe nothing can go wrong, as all the stories they have been fed with since assuming puberty are lies.
The CYDPAN director vowed that the NGO, concerned with the alleviation of poverty and rendering assistance to the worst hit and vulnerable in the society, will not relent on efforts in reaching out to address issues of these magnitudes in the society. Robert said CYDPAN has begun to address the issues by working with schools and communities to raise awareness on hygiene, as well as give out invaluable assistance and educations on the girl child and puberty.
Narrating her experiences, 14-year-old Emediong shared with CYDPAN in CCSS Uyo her ordeals in managing her menstrual flow, prior to the visit of CYDPAN to their school: ‘I used to use clothes that I would cut from my old T-shirt to keep the blood from staining my school uniform, but they were not enough and blood would still stain my cloth’. In the same vein, another student told the CYDPAN team that she would usually miss school during her period due to poor management of the phenomena, and also to protect herself from the embarrassments that ensue, considering her circle comes quite heavily.
Speaking further on the afore-highlighted realities in the society, CYDPAN director, Robert Boniface noted that providing for even the basic needs of girls between the ages of 9 and 15 in secondary schools has been an overwhelming and tremendous challenge, leaving CYDPAN dependent on the generosity of philanthropic individuals, humanitarian agencies and the private sector to continue discharging its core mandates. He thus solicited the continued support of well-meaning parastatal and individuals poised to effect positive changes in the society, to partner with CYDPAN to be able to reach out to as many needy persons as possible, in order to collectively accomplish the greater good of empowerment and poverty alleviation.
Training the students on the imports of puberty and what to expect, a senior nursing officer (Patience John), who herself is also an intricate part of the CYDPAN team, guided the students through topics in puberty ranging from its correct definition, the general changes that occur during puberty, the importance of maintaining good hygiene as well as boosting their confidence to participate, wherever subjects of puberty and the likes are up for discussion.
Later in his remarks, the vice principal Academic of CCSS, (Mr. Thompson), applauded the CYDPAN team for the initiative, and prayed for them to have at their disposal needed funds to continue reaching out to communities and schools in need of their selfless services. The students themselves were also on hand to show gratitude through various renditions, recitals and applauds.
CYDPAN team has drawn up plans to, within the next couple of weeks, reach out to no less than (Four schools) in each senatorial district of Akwa Ibom state, in continuation of the outreach, sensitisation and empowerment of boys and girls undergoing various stages of puberty. On Thursday 3rd December 2020, the CYDPAN team will be embarking on another trip to (Community Secondary School, Ikot Inyang) Ikot Ekpene, for a similar outreach. The trip to Ikot Ekpene also hopes to accomplish more in drawing enough help and assistance for the vulnerable sects within the Akwa Ibom population of teenagers, who are in continued dire need of love and care through an exciting puberty-phase of their lives, which can however be extremely confusing, awkward, scary, and at times fatal, if not properly managed.
Indeed, CYDPAN believes it can effect the necessary and desired impact, by ensuring that young teenage girls are spared the hazards of suffering from poor menstrual hygiene. This, CYDPAN believes, is the foundation through which various infectious diseases are honed, leaving them prone to innumerable health hazards and complications, which invariably affect their academic programmes, and in turn, incumber their bright future.
