We are delighted to share a blog written by student Favour, from Olashore international school, who is part of team Towel for Girls delivering a Global Goals project for the 2020-21 GSL Global Goals Competition.
Their project is among over 957 social action projects currently running as part of the GSL movement and we are excited to be supporting them to design and lead positive social change in their community.
It has been exhausting yet enlightening and enjoyable.
Project Summary
One in every ten young women cannot afford sanitary pads to take care of themselves, as a result of this, many drop out of school and the others use unsanitary items, some of which include; clothes, towels, newspapers, etc.
This is a very heart-breaking issue that is rapidly rising and we have come together to see how we can curb it in our immediate community. This observation was not as a result of an event that happened but because I myself have been in situations where I was not with a sanitary pad and needed one, and it was not a pleasant situation. Then I realized that many people suffer this every month around me and decided to lend a hand, after all I can afford pads so why shouldn’t other people enjoy the comfort of sanitary pads. Our project is mainly about educating women / girls on menstruation and how to take care of themselves during their periods but whilst doing this, we would give them pads for free.
The Journey
I have learnt that for an events outcome to be positive, a lot of planning and preparation is required. I have also noticed that I am more patient than I thought I was. Working together with my group members and leadership co-ordinator was not an easy task, but I did listen to everyone’s opinion and considered it once or twice.
At the start my biggest challenge was Covid -19, but going on, the solution was to have a limited amount of people per session and have two sessions, provide each attendee with a face mask and make every attendee wash or sanitise their hands. Presently, the biggest challenge is theft of pads, as pads are going to be kept in our school toilets. As of now , our only solution is to enlighten the female members of Olashore on the usage of the pads.
The Next Chapter
I will definitely recommend friends of mine to get involved in projects like mine. Mostly because it is very interesting and you build yourself while working on the project. Other reasons are because, the towel for girls project team would appreciate it if people our age in other parts of the world take on similar projects to help spread awareness about menstrual hygiene and also because putting a smile on peoples faces is something everyone should have the opportunity of doing whilst still young.
