LIFE Team women (back row) with female students in Kibiti, Tanzania

There is a desperate need around the world for women to be educated about their menstrual cycles and equipped with feminine hygiene products.

According to the World Bank, an estimated 500 million women and girls globally don’t have access to the facilities they need to manage their periods. Many of these women also lack any kind of knowledge about their cycle and what is happening to their bodies during this time.

While on a LIFE Team trip to see GAiN’s water strategy first-hand in Tanzania, there was a unique opportunity for GAiN’s Water for Life Initiative (WFLI) to respond to this need. In addition to the usual tasks of building a well pad and engaging with villages and the local church, the team decided to give away menstrual hygiene packages and educate girls on their cycles. This form of distribution and training is the first of its kind that GAiN has ever done.

“We went to a secondary school in Kibiti, Tanzania where GAiN is currently working on providing a well,” said Monique Lieuwen, Project Manager for WFLI. A lot of the kids walk over an hour to get to school.”

Monique explained how she and, Jess, Community Health Project Manager for WFLI, as well as two other female LIFE team members and GAiN Tanzania staff members Neema and Oliva all arrived at the school and met with the principal, who directed them to a private classroom. There they met with a group of 26 female students who were approximately ages 14-18. Each girl received a menstrual hygiene package, which came in different sizes and consisted of five reusable pads, one pair of underwear and a set of instructions. These pads were sewn by volunteers from Australia and are made from towels and flannel with a snap underneath to keep it secure. 

“At first, the girls were a little shy and nervous, but they opened right up,” Monique shared. “It was awesome. They were so engaged and excited, they had never received anything like this before. It wasn’t just a distribution– it was education.”

Neema and Oliva taught the girls how to use the reusable pads and keep track of their cycle. In return, the girls shared about their experience in dealing with their periods. Instead of pads, they would use cloth and then refold it to keep using it over and over. The lack of proper hygiene products is made worse by the shame culture surrounding a woman’s cycle. Many girls are forced to stay home or stay away from school to reduce the risk of anyone finding out that they are on their period.

Neema (left) and Oliva (right)

“When we gave them a pack, they hid it under their head coverings,” Monique recalled. “They didn’t want anyone to see them.” 

Because of the embarrassment of being on their period, girls miss one week of education out of every month and sometimes drop out of school entirely. Mothers also succumb to shame and refuse to teach their daughters about menstruation, creating a generational pattern of silence and secrecy.

In an attempt to break some of the stigma and mystery associated with periods, Jess, Neema and Oliva crafted a simple menstrual training for the girls. The team not only discussed the physical function of a period, but explained that this shared female experience is a way to support one another socially. They also encouraged the students to talk with one another about their periods and look out for one another as a way to reduce feelings of shame and isolation.

Training the girls on how to use reusable pads

“One girl said, ‘thank you for the education,’” Monique shared. “That meant a lot, because it’s so much more than saying ‘thank you for the pads.’ Education is so much better and is what will have a lasting impact on these girls and their culture.”

These menstrual packages and training sessions are part of a trial project that will hopefully continue as long as there is funding and volunteer capacity to sew reusable pads. For now, we are thankful for the opportunity to have facilitated our first distribution and training with these teenage girls, and hope that it has gifted them with a measure of dignity and confidence for the future.

Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/05/25/menstrual-hygiene-management

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30 October 2017 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or D’aesh) may be largely pushed out of Syria’s Raqqa governorate, but after years of oppression and nearly a year of intense fighting – marked recently by heavy airstrikes – humanitarian needs will continue to be large for some time, the top United Nations relief official told the Security Council Monday.

“Since the beginning of the anti-ISIL offensive in November last year, airstrikes and clashes have resulted in more than 436,000 people being displaced from Raqqa to 60 different locations, including in neighbouring governorates,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said briefing the Council via videoconference from Amman, Jordan.

“One conclusion is obvious: the impact of the Syria crisis continues to be profound.”

Expressing deep worry about the impact of fighting and airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Raqqa governorate, with scores of civilians reportedly killed in recent months, he said he is also concerned for the safety and protection of civilians at risk from unexploded ordinance throughout Raqqa city, particularly those trying to return to their homes.

“Despite the directive issued by local authorities for civilians not to return to the city until it is deemed safe, the UN anticipates that people will go back to try to check on and protect their homes and their personal assets,” Mr. Lowcock explained.

Further to the east, in Deir Ez-Zor governorate, heavy fighting and airstrikes continue to result in civilian deaths and injuries. Large-scale displacement also continues, with the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting some 350,000 people displaced since August, including more than 250,000 people in October alone.

As for eastern Ghouta, Mr. Lowcock daily shelling has continued to be reported in recent weeks. Humanitarian access to eastern Ghouta – one of the four de-escalated areas where nearly 95 per cent of Syria’s besieged population lives – has been severely curtailed for months. Since the start of the year 110,000 people have received food assistance, out of an estimated population of nearly 400,000.

“Today the UN and partners delivered food, nutrition and health assistance to 40,000 people, he told the Council, warning however that an alarming number of child malnutrition cases have been recorded there, and more than 400 people with health problems require medical evacuation.

Overall, he said that more than 13 million people inside Syria still need humanitarian assistance. 6.3 million of them are exceptionally vulnerable and in acute need because of displacement, hostilities, and limited access to basic goods and services. “Conflict and violations of international humanitarian law continue to be the principal drivers of humanitarian need, with civilians in many parts of the country enduring massive suffering.”

“Against this background, the UN and our partners continue to implement in Syria one of the largest humanitarian operations in the world,” said Mr. Lowcock who is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, noting, by example that in September, the World Food Programme (WFP) provided food assistance to more than 3.3 million people, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reached over 1.5 million people, and the World health Organization (WHO) reached over 800,000 people.

He also went on to point out that cross-border assistance provided for in last year’s Council resolution 2165 “has been a lifeline,” allowing the UN to reach millions of people in need in northern and southern parts of Syria. On average, aid was delivered to 2.76 million people a month through cross-border operations between January and August of this year.

“Our experience with cross-line operations from within Syria […] leads us to believe that it would be impossible to reach those people in a sustained manner from within Syria. I therefore regard a renewal of resolution 2165 as essential. Millions of people depend on the activities it mandates,” he underscored.

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(Source)
(Image Source: UNICEF/UN066040/Souleiman)