2024 Menstrual Hygiene Day: Fremah Opare donates 2,400 pieces of sanitary pads to female school children of Bantama Circuit
The Chief of Staff Akosua Fremah Opare-Osei has donated 2,400 pieces of sanitary pads to female school children of the Bantama Circuit of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Ashanti region.
The Chief of Staff’s donation is intended to support the girls’ education during their menstrual cycle and to guarantee that they have access to sustained high-quality feminine hygiene.
Akosua Fremah Opare-Osei’s donation was part of activities marking the 2024 Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration held on May 28 with the global theme “#PeriodFriendlyWorld”.
The day, celebrated every year on May 28, aims to break taboos and spread awareness about menstrual health and hygiene around the world.
The donation was made on behalf of the Chief of Staff by the Queen Mother of Race Course Market, Nana Afia Kyeiwaa, and held at the Adventist Senior High School at Bantama.
The Chief of Staff stated in her message, which was read on her behalf, that it is her duty as a mother to give the pads to the children, who she views as her grandchildren, in order to improve their personal hygiene.
She said the donation, which will be done regularly, is also to “build their confidence, enable regular school attendance without break, avoid embarrassing experiences, and to help the children to adapt to the use of disposable menstrual pads which are medically proven for menstrual hygiene”.
Akosua Fremah Opare-Osei advised the young children not to allow men to take advantage of them by promising to buy them pads during menstruation, which can usually lead to pregnancy.
“Menstruation is a normal part of life, you should know how to use the pads to improve upon your feminine hygiene. Don’t feel shy to attend school because of your menses. If you have any issues with your menses, please talk to your mother or any of the female teachers,” she advised the girls.
Receiving the sanitary pads on behalf of the Kumasi Metro Education Directorate, Joana Quarshie Jnr, was grateful to the Chief of Staff Akosua Fremah Opare-Osei for the gesture.
She believed that it goes a long way to address some of the challenges the female children face during their menstrual cycle, especially absentees during class hours.
The organizers of the event, Live the Dream Foundation, educated the children on how to maintain good hygiene during that time of the month.
The Patron of Live the Dream Foundation, Ivy Oppong Wireko, made them understand that menstruation was a natural cycle that women go through and that they should not accept the narratives that make them unclean.
Speaking with Otec News, the girls expressed their excitement about menstruation education, and the pads they received, and expressed their gratitude to the Chief of Staff for the donation and Live the Dream Foundation, the event organizers.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
