Live Right Ghana calls for donation of Sanitary Pads to vulnerable households as we fight Coronavirus

As 28^th May 2020, marks this year’s menstrual hygiene Day, Live Right Ghana found interest in engaging young girls to share their first experience with menstruation.

Abena happens to be one of the young girls in Ashaiman that shared her story with the Menstrual Hygiene Empowerment NGO (Live Right Ghana).

According to Abena, who is now 13 years, moved from Togo to assist her sister do baby sitting in Ashaiman last year (2019). She has never been educated about menstruation. Unfortunately, because Abena did not get the opportunity to school, she has also not read anything about menstruation before.

Her first time of learning about menstruation and hygiene management was in 2020 when her sister’s husband brought home some reusable and washable sanitary pads sewed by Live Right Ghana.

Abena had the opportunity to sit with her sister and her husband who both explained to her that at her age she may be experiencing her menstruation soon. She was taught how to use the pad, bath, and safely disposal off used pads.

Being that enlightened, Abena still refused to disclose to her sister the first morning she saw her period. She taught the blood was going to stop the next day. According to Abena, she felt tired and annoyed all by herself for three days without disclosing it to her sister because she might beat her for not saying it the first day. She could not disclose it to her sister husband either because she was shy of him. She had to cope by staying more in door.

The sister only got to know of it when she instructed Abena to come and assist with work on the third day. She refused coming out, and having waited for so long, her sister came in to bring out with force. It was in this process that she fell and her sister getting to see her pant with blood.

According to Abena, though her sister’s action was hash, it helped her save the embarrassment by giving her one of the pad to put.

Live Right Ghana in their word to the world in advance before 28^th May, stated that Women’s menstrual periods does not wait for pandemics to pass. And therefore there is the need for more reusable and washable sanitary pads to be bought and shared for girls by government and philanthropist alike whiles supporting vulnerable families with food items among others during this period of COVID-19.