FAB Treasure Tackles Menstrual Challenges at IDP Camp
FABTreasureFoundation,achampionforwomen’sempowerment and wellbeing, tackled menstrual health challenges head-on at the Kuchingoro IDP camp in Abuja. With support from ActionAid Nigeria, they provided reusable sanitary pads and crucial menstrual health education to over 100 women.
This was necessitated by the results of a study conducted by FAB Treasure’s programmes unit. The research revealed a harsh reality: for these displaced women,basic needs like food and clothing came first. They simply couldn’t afford sanitary products and have resorted to using other unhealthy means of managing their menstruation.
This sad reality forms the bedrock of FAB Treasure Foundation’s thematic approach to women empowerment. Having considered the importance of menstrual hygiene and the prevalence of several social and economic factors that impede women from upholding a healthy lifestyle, FAB Treasure took to a 3-day outreachtagged“Empower Her;EmbracingSustainableSolutions for Menstrual Hygiene,” at theKuchingoroIDPCampAbuja.
The outreach aimed to educate and encourage healthy menstrual practices, deconstruct age-long perspectives and beliefs attached to menstruation, and distribute reusable and easy-to-maintain sanitary pads, thereby reducing theburdenofpurchasingsanitary products monthly. Beneficiaries of this project - women and girls alike who were taught how to use and manage the reusable sanitary products expressed gratitude and joy as they will not need to bother about purchasing sanitary pads for the next six months.
“I love this pad because it is reusable, very simple to manage, andbetterthantheotherswehave received,’ Miriam Yohana said.
IntandemwithMiriam’sassertion, Patience James appreciated FAB Treasure for the new knowledgeandmenstrualproducts.they havereceived.“Beforenow,Iused to think, menstrual blood is dirty blood, but now I know better. I will share this with my friends,” she noted.
With a clear desire to continuously improvewomen’shealthand empowerthemforchange,Festus Abigail,ExecutiveDirectorofFAB TreasureFoundation,hasreiterated hercommitmenttocreatingabetter and healthier living condition for womenandgirls,particularlythose who are marginalised.
“Over the years, I have witnessed and heard stories of women living under terrible circumstances, the kinds where survival is the most important thing and menstrual hygiene is of little or no concern to them.
“These women opt for unhygienic options during menstruation like, clothes, wrappers, and a host of other ways to manage their menstruation. Sadly, the economy has made it difficult to get sanitary pads”, Abigail noted. Abigail expressed her wish to continue to uphold a more accommodating environment for women and girls to freely and healthily go through their menstrual periods.
“I and my team have and will continue to do our best to see that period poverty is a thing of the past, and women are more inclinedtodiscusstheirmenstruationwithoutfearofstigmatization and sentiments,” she added.