Menstrual Hygiene Management
Helping young girls stay in school through MHM
With this initiative, our goal is to promote a healthy menstrual lifestyle for underprivileged girls as they go to school. MHM is a serious issue in the Northern region of Cameroon, where poverty, taboos, and cultural stigmas prevent girls from living through their periods with dignity. With access to the right information and resources, girls can focus better on their education and gain the confidence to fulfill their potential.
Why
girls still miss school while on their period
Too many girls in our communities miss class — sometimes up to a week every month — simply because they don’t have access to safe menstrual products or support. Every day they stay home, they fall further behind in school, and many eventually drop out.
Taboos and stigma around periods
attached to menstruation lead to an overall culture of silence around the topic, resulting in limited information on menstruation and menstrual hygiene. This causes considerable psychological trauma for the girls as they may not understand the happenings in their bodies and have no one to ask. In many cultures, menstruating women are considered impure and excluded from participating in everyday activities, such as education, employment, and cultural and religious practices.
Period poverty is real
In an area where poverty is the norm, period poverty is not a surprise. Most menstruating girls and women in the North of Cameroon do not have access to menstrual products and good hygiene facilities for use during their menstruating days. They resort to unhealthy palliatives such as using old and unclean clothing, toilet paper, and even leaves of trees to help themselves during what should be a peaceful period of their lives every month. In areas like this, promoting menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is not only a sanitation matter; it is also an important step towards safeguarding the dignity, bodily integrity, and overall life opportunities of women and girls.
No girl should miss school because she's on her period!
How
Training Workshops On Menstrual Hygiene Management
We partner with health professionals and local authorities to organize training workshops to educate young girls on the menstrual cycle, and how to maintain good menstrual hygiene. Topics taught include but are not limited to:
- My body and me
- The menstrual cycle
- Menstrual hygiene basics
- Types of menstrual protections
- Menstrual taboos and other "strange" menstrual happenings
Distribution Of Menstrual Protections And Kits
We distribute menstrual hygiene protections and accessories such as soaps, detergents, pants to underprivileged girls. This is done through funds of the organization as well as donor contributions. Beneficiaries are selected based on need and age. Sometimes we partner with sister organizations such as sista4sista in educating and distributing menstrual protections.
Training On Production Of Reusable Menstrual Pads
Title
By distributing commercial menstrual pads to young girls in need we are equipping them for a few months of stress-free menstruation. However, it is not the most sustainable approach as the pads supplied may only last for a few months and the girls will remain dependent on external aid to manage their periods.
In the quest for a more sustainable solution, Garizim Foundation has resorted to training young girls on the production of washable and reusable menstrual pads in the three regions of the North region of Cameroon. Starting this year, we will be partnering with the Cho Ngafor Foundation to train 30 girls on the handy production of reusable washable menstrual protections.
Past Events
