By Patience Tawiah
Nkwanta (O/R), May 30, GNA – The Nkwanta South Municipal Education Directorate in the Oti region has marked the 2024 Menstrual Hygiene Day with a donation of sanitary pads to young girls in the Municipality.
The gesture which was in collaboration with the Movement for Change Adolescent Health Ambassadors and Women and Development Project (WADEP), had other activities including a float on the principal streets of Nkwanta with placards expressing ‘ordeals’ while menstruating.
Madam Millicent Abrah Aidoo Boame, Oti Regional Education Girls Officer, said the menstruation period was a natural one that every female of a certain age must go through till they got to their menopause stage.
She said the purpose of the celebration was to educate the young girls on the importance of practising personal menstrual hygiene and being able to handle health implications that came along during the period.
Madam Bonne called on parents to provide their girl-child of age with at least a sanitary pad every month to enable them to participate in all activities in school without fear or panic that they might stain themselves which could lead to embarrassment.
“Our vision is to help girls within our various schools with an in-depth knowledge on menstrual hygiene and how they calculate their menstrual cycle and also help them feel confident among their peers during their period”.
She also called on non-governmental organisations and individuals to come and support the Education Directorate, especially the Girl-child Department with sanitary pads to be given to the young girls who might not be able to afford them.
Madam Boame said a sufficient supply of the pads could help in reducing teenage pregnancies since some girls were believed to have been taken advantage of in the quest to acquire pads.
Madam Sherifa Sekyere-Tijani, the Nkwanta South Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, advised the young girls to be confident and not allow men to take advantage of them because of a sanitary pad.
GNA