Menstruation should not feel like a death sentence; neither should it be a limit to any woman’s or girl’s dreams. It is a phase in life that should be embraced just like any other. My name is Branice Adisa, a Change Champion at Young Jewels Foundation. Being part of the team has been an eye-opening opportunity. Supporting and mentoring girls in rural based schools has been such an amazing journey. We have seen dreams come true; and that is worth every effort we have dedicated to the cause.
Menstrual hygiene is a multi-sectorial issue that forms a critical component in sanitation, wellbeing, education and health. Women and girls face several challenges in relation to menstrual education, information access, affordable and appropriate menstrual products, poor sanitation facilities and lack of proper avenues for disposal of menstrual waste. Women and girls’ voices are indispensable to ensuring that their needs on this agenda are understood and prioritized. There is need for inclusivity of the Menstrual Health Management (MHM) agenda in national governing policies committed to tackle gender inequality in practice. This is vital towards strengthening women/girls’ voices which in turns encourages participation in development and alleviation of poverty.
Thousands of girls across our currently 11 adopted schools have benefited from the Young Jewels mentorship program. The program seeks to mitigate girls’ absenteeism in schools as a result of lack of menstrual products. With very minimal funding from stakeholders, Young Jewels has focused on local resource mobilization for efficient and effective implementation of this noble cause. There is need for adequate resource allocation for continuous provision of MHM programs. We can all take part in one way or the other. Welcome to Young Jewels team, it’s an open platform for anyone willing to support thousands of school girls. Be a hero for our girls by purchasing a Zara Kit for our girls today. To purchase or know more about our Zara Kit, please click here
Author: Branice Adisa
Change Champion
