Rotary Club Of Obuasi, Girls Shall Grow donate sanitary pads to 600 school girls

Some 600 girls mainly from three communities within Obuasi Municipal, Obuasi East and Akrofuom districts have so far been given free sanitary pads which will last for at least six months.

The donation was done by the Rotary Club of Obuasi which collaborated with Girls Shall Grow, an NGO based in Obuasi to educate girls on menstrual hygiene and teenage pregnancy.

The gesture forms part of the declaration made by Rotary International President directing all clubs to make girl child empowerment their number one priority for 2021 and 2022.

The Past President of the Obuasi Rotary Club, Rotarian Sarwan Kumar who led the club to make the donations emphasized the importance of supporting girls during periods of menstruation.

He said the Club recognizes the challenges most girls go through during menstruation. " In our quest to empower the girl child, we have decided to educate them on safe menstruation, teenage pregnancy and also donated sanitary pads which they can use for the next six (6) months. We are optimistic that this will take some burden off them and their parents to enable them focus more on their studies," he stated.

The President-elect for Obuasi Rotary, Rotarian Godfrey Mwachande also reiterated that the Club will continue to offer support to girls during menstruation in a bid to ensure that communities beyond Obuasi, are covered."Since menstruation is a natural process, we are aware of the challenges hence are always ready to help "

Wash facilities are being constructed to ensure safe menstruation

Executive Director of Girls Shall Grow, an Obuasi-based NGO, Mrs Louisa Amoah has lauded Rotarians in Ghana for the gesture and also for constructing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools to support their course. She said hitherto, girls were unable to manage their menstruation safely and hygienically due to the absence of proper WASH facilities.

She added, "through our advocacy, now we have seen WASH facilities being constructed in schools in Obuasi."

The need for pad banks to support girls in remote communities

Mrs. Cecilia Salifu, the Obuasi Municipal Girls Coordinator on her part proposed the provision of pad banks to make sanitary pads easily accessible by girls in schools. She underscored the importance of making sanitary pads available to girls who sometimes go through difficulties in observing safe menstruation.

She commended efforts made by groups like Rotary Club of Obuasi and Girls Shall Grow in empowering girls and providing free sanitary pads.

Rtn Delphine Esi Gborgblorvor, director of health for Obuasi East district also shared support for the exercise carried out by Rotarians in Obuasi. She advocated for this project to be scaled-up to cover more girls in other communities, especially those in schools.