Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Rotary Club of Bahari Dar es Salaam has launched Menstrual Hygiene Management Project at Mtakuja Beach Secondary School, aiming to break silence by creating awareness to the students, teachers and debunking the taboos and misconceptions associated with menstruation.
According to President of the Club, Mr Diamond Carvalho, the project will also increase school attendance for adolescent school girls as promoting menstrual health and hygiene is an important means for safeguarding women’s dignity.
Mr Carvalho said this in Dar es Salaam over the weekend that for generations of girls and women, poor menstrual health and hygiene is intensifying social and economic inequalities, negatively impacting their education, health, safety, and human development.
He noted that along with the launching project, the club donated reusable sanitary pad kits to over 381girls and 31 female teachers at the school. This is a first phase, while the second phase will be in October this year to cover more students, whereby both the girls and boys were the target age group.
Moreover, the club were able to cooperate with school management for two days training on menstrual hygiene management as part to celebrate World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Similar projects are being done at other local schools today by Rotary Club of Oysterbay and Rotary Club of Pugu in Dar es Salaam which also aims to increase the self-esteem of adolescent girls on menstrual matters through open discussion and focused empowerment.
In his remarks Lieutenant Colonel Aggrey Timbuka from National Defence College has appealed to donors to continue to provide awareness on Menstrual Hygiene to reach girls and the community around them in order to dispel misconceptions.
He urged students to develop the habit of physical exercise with the aim of taking care of their health and avoiding various diseases.
Mtakuja Head Teacher, Ms Janeth Mabusi commented that the project has come at a right time whereby some of adolescent girls cannot afford to buy sanitary pads this leads to absenteeism in school and how this negatively impacts their education.
She stressed that sometimes students use other poor options during their menstruation period, however, can pose serious health risks, like reproductive and urinary tract infections which can result in future infertility and birth complications.
On her side, Amina Omari who is among the beneficiaries of reusable pad kits donation has applauded the Rotary Club for the initiative to ensure they access education so that they can be aware of safe menstrual practices.
Mtakuja secondary school on the Kunduchi outskirts of Dar es Salaam Rotary Club of Bahari has been partnering with the school since 2011. And among other projects at school are a safe water system, and building modern toilets for boys and girls.
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