The Rotary Club International, Bauchi state chapter has donated 240 reusable sanitary pads and 160 tight-fitted pants to 80 girls of Government Secondary School, Bayara, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis.
Speaking during the distribution exercise, Mr Pam Dauda, the President of Rotary Club International in the state, said the gesture was to celebrate the International Girls’ Child Day.
To him, the gesture was a collaborative effort of the Rotary Club, Alwadata Likeminds Initiative and Kairos Initiative.
“We are celebrating the day and so we have to do something that will impact the life of the girl-child.
“We have realised that due to the economic challenges, it’s challenging for them to be able to afford a conventional pad which they usually discard after use.
“Hence, we produced these reusable sanitary pads that can be washed and recycled for a long period of time.
“This time around, we are giving a pack of three sanitary pads with two sets of pants to each of these 80 adult girls so that they can use them,” said the president.
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He further explained that after this project, the club would be working towards the provision of water sanitation toilets in some selected schools where both the males and females could access differently.
He said this would be a better way for the girl-child to be safer in schools, especially during their menstruation.
“We also want to provide hand washing materials for them to use because sanitation is very key and girl hygiene is very important,” he said.
One of the girl-students who spoke on behalf of all, Aisha Isma’il, lamented that the menstrual cycle had put many girls under stress as they were always out of school for the period of the flow because of a lack of facilities.
She called for action to bring relief and succour to the girl-child to enable her to overcome the pressure of monthly flow in school.
She also appealed for more toilets for the girls in the schools, saying “For now, there are no toilets for the girls thereby making it difficult for us to have safe corners as we share the same toilet with our male counterparts”.
