Since 2018, Global Communities, in partnership with Be Girl, a United States of America-based producer of re-usable Be Girl Sanitary panties with towels and menstrual cycle tracker, has reached out to adolescent girls in deprived project regions to educate all adolescents on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and distributed some Be Girl products. The results have been incredible. 1,142 adolescent girls have benefitted from Be Girl panties and MHM education. 1,071 boys and 1,036 parents and guardians have benefitted from MHM education in 4 project regions (Volta, Savannah, Western, Greater Accra), translating into significant impact in the lives of beneficiaries and communities.
Today, in commemorating the Menstruation Hygiene Day, Global Communities Ghana is celebrating two heroines and a hero who have translated these interventions into positive behavioural and attitudinal changes.
Lucy Binsil, a seventeen year old pupil of Abunyanya District Assembly Junior High School, in the Volta Region, saw her dreams of becoming a nurse fade away anytime she missed class. Her regular absence was usually during her menstrual period. On days she was present in class, she constantly stained her school uniform like most girls in the school, resulting in ridicules from her male classmates.
Her narrative changed after benefitting from the Be Girl Panties and menstrual cycle tracker, as well as education on Menstrual Hygiene Management. According to her, “The intervention has really changed my life. I no longer skip school during my period. I am now motivated to study hard to become a nurse in future, as has been my dream.”
The story of Nadia Baba, a form 3 pupil of St Paul Roman Catholic Junior High school, Tuna, in the Savannah Region, is no different, "I used to feel uncomfortable mingling with my male classmates because I used cloth during my period. But now my confidence has shot up because I use Be Girl pantie and I know I am secured’’
Daniel Kwadwo Yajabrum Binya, Lucy’s classmate, recounted his perception, and that of his male cohorts, of their female classmates during their menses. “We did not allow them to get close to us because we saw them as dirty. Most of them stained their school uniforms during their menses.” After being enlightened, that perception has changed over time. “We are more accommodating now because we understand the natural phenomenon of menstruation and now they look more presentable.”
“It’s time for action” is this year’s theme for the Menstrual Hygiene Day. These testimonies are indicative of the actions already in motion. At this pace, it is envisaged that more adolescent girls, especially, will be empowered to strive for greatness, overcoming all barriers pertaining to menstruation.
