Safe Menstruation Movement (SAMMO), a youth-led advocacy group in the Upper East Region, has successfully completed four community durbars in the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Kassena Nankana West District.
The community durbars are part of SAMMO’s activities in the implementation of its ‘PAD A GIRL INITIATIVE,’ known as the (PAGI) Project. With support from Norsaac, the community durbars aim to support and educate parents and their adolescent girls on reproductive health rights, which pose a challenge to many young girls in the region.
The community durbars took place in Sumbrungu and Sherigu communities in the Bolgatanga Municipality, while in the Kassena Nankana West District, the durbars were held in Mirigu and Sirigu communities, all in the Upper East Region.
The durbars reached out to about 500 adolescent girls and their parents in the four communities. The young girls who attended the engagement noted that they lack sexual and reproductive health rights education. The schoolgirls also lamented the high cost of sanitary pads, which negatively affects them by causing them to miss school.
During the durbar in the Mirigu community, the Queen Mother of Nabango promised to establish locally manufactured reusable pads to support girls who find it difficult to afford sanitary pads during their menstruation period.
She stated, “I have just been informed that one of our women here is sewing some reusable pads for sale. I pledge to support any needy girl in school who can’t afford.”
The President of SAMMO, Paul Nsobuno, expressed his gratitude in his speech at the various durbars and appreciated Norsaac and its partners for the support, which he believed would make a positive impact after the implementation of the project.
Mr. Nsobuno mentioned that the volunteers and midwives SAMMO is working with in the various communities would help sustain the initiative by providing education to the adolescent girls in schools.
In the coming days, SAMMO will embark on school outreaches for its PAGI project, focusing on menstrual hygiene management education, mentorship sessions, and distribution of sanitary pads to the schoolgirls.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|Bolgatanga
