With support from Plan International Sierra Leone and Plan International West and Central Africa, Women for Women WFWF, Women for Women trained adolescent girls and young women as entrepreneurs to produce safe reusable sanitary pads, while taping their potentials to become self-sufficient as part of the social enterprise of the low cost sanitary pads business to support their education trained 20 adolescent girls on the production of safe reusable sanitary pads to address the perpetual challenge of menstrual hygiene management affecting underprivileged girls in Serabu Chiefdom Kenema District
In a bid to address the issue of menstrual hygiene management among underprivileged girls in Serabu Chiefdom, Kenema District, Women for Women (WFWF) in collaboration with Plan International Sierra Leone and Plan International West and Central Africa, trained 20 adolescent girls on the production of safe reusable sanitary pads.
The training was aimed at empowering the girls to become self-sufficient through the social enterprise of low-cost sanitary pads business, while also supporting their education. The initiative was part of WFWF’s efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sierra Leone.
According reports, one in ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during menstruation, which can lead to poor academic performance and even dropping out of school altogether. Lack of access to sanitary products is a major barrier to menstrual hygiene management for many girls in the region.
The WFWF initiative is therefore a step towards ensuring that adolescent girls and young women have access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products. By training them as entrepreneurs, the program also helps to address the issue of unemployment among young people in Sierra Leone.
Speaking on the initiative, the founder for Founder For Women , Kadiatu Koroma , said: “We believe that adolescent girls and young women should have access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products. We also created inclusive and ensured women with disabilities were also part of the training “
The WFWF initiative is a commendable effort towards promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sierra Leone. It is hoped that similar initiatives will be replicated across the country to ensure that every girl has access to safe menstrual hygiene products.