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The Creek Girl Empowerment Initiative (CGEI) organised a sensitisation programme in Esenaebe and Kpakima Secondary School, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, to educate and sensitise female students on the dangers of truancy, drug abuse, and prostitution, while promoting menstrual hygiene and care.
The CGEi team visited the communities respectively, to increase awareness among female students about the dangers and consequences of truancy, drug abuse, and prostitution, to improve the understanding of the importance of menstrual hygiene and care, and to establish a support system for female students, particularly those of menstrual age.
The team also established the Creek Girl Care Clinic (CGCC), a support system for female students, and also provided sanitary pads, ensuring easy access for female students of menstrual age. During a feedback session, it was discovered that both schools lacked basic facilities, including toilets (WASH facilities) and sick bays.
Speaking to the students, the Executive Director of CGEi, Doubra Etolor, educated the girls on personal hygiene during their menstrual circle and in their everyday lives.
“When girls start their periods, it’s usually met with either feelings of excitement or fear, depending on how each girl views the coming changes that prepare them for womanhood. But for many girls in the creeks, it often comes as a ticking clock that marks the beginning of the end of their education.
“Many schools, including the ones we visited, don’t have safe and clean toilets where girls can take care of themselves during their periods, and beyond that, most girls in the creeks don’t have access to – nor could they afford – reusable pads or tampons. Without feminine hygiene prducts, many girls skip school while on their periods.
“That means they miss up to a week of school every month so girls start to fall behind and eventually drop out. So, to cushion this effect, the Creek Girl Empowerment Initiative, while carrying out its sensitisation project on curbing female vices, decided to distribute sanitary pads to girls of menstrual age. We also intend to establish sick bays in targeted schools in the creeks. So, we are calling on well-meaning individuals, organizations and institutions to support the visions and goals of this initiative,” said Etolor.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Neferok Development Foundation, Ayo Nefertiti Okotie, spoke to the students on prostitution and its dangers and encouraged the students to focus on their studies to become what they want to be in the future.
The programme had an interactive talk, where students were engaged on the dangers of truancy, drug abuse, and prostitution. The term “anyhow waka” was used to reduce the harsh tone associated with these vices. Emphasis was placed on the effects and consequences of indulging in these vices.
