By Bakah Derick
Members of Metrual Hygiene Management school clubs and girls from different communities in Bamenda have committed to engage in activities aimed at ending stigmatisation against Menstruation and normalising menstrual hygiene.
The commitment was made on Sunday 29 May 2022 during activities to mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day (WMHD) organised by the Center for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development (CAGEAD).
The Bamenda based not-for-profit nongovernmental organisation assembled the school clubs formed in April 2022 as part of the "improving girls educational attainment through proper menstrual hygiene management" project and some selected community girls under the slogan ""making menstrual hygiene a normal fact of life by 2030."
Through presentations led by Assumpta Lum, Programs Coordinator and Verina Mondua Communication Officer both of CAGEAD, the attending school clubs and community girls committed to sewing their pads, wear their menstrual bracelets, debunk taboos as well as create conversations around menstruation. The need to provide safe spaces, dignity kits and do advocacy for institutional policies on menstrual hygiene also futured amongst the commitments made by the participants and organisers.
The participating schools from Bamenda I, II and III as well as the University of Bamenda took part in menstrual hygiene management related competitive games amongst them egg and sac races, dancing and quize.
While handing over certificates of recognition to all participated school clubs and community girls, CAGEAD's programs coordinator Assumpta Lum expressed gratitude to the school counselors for the work done in their respective schools to ensure that both boys and girls are involved in club activities. This according to her helps in engaging not only the girls but the entire school community in normalising issues of menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
The programs coordinator handed medals to the overall second and third ranked schools and a trophy to the around best school club being Government High School Bayelle. She described the overall winners as "menstrual hygiene management champions."
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