Girls Empowerment Network supplies materials for sewing sanitary pads in Mchinji
Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) has supplied materials for sewing menstruation sanitary pads in its on going project called ‘happy health and safe project’ which is currently running in area of Traditional Authority Mavwere in Mchinji.
The supplied items include; one electric sewing machine, two manual sewing machines, one overlock machines, cloth and sewing accessories; sizers and needles.
Speaking at the ceremony of supplying the items at Waliranji Primary School in Mchinji, GENET Project Manageress Tamala Mhango said that their organization thought it wise to supply the materials after noticing the challenges which girls face when they are doing menstruation period during school time.
“As GENET we observed that many girls in schools they do not concentrate in class when they are doing menstruation period, for this reason we thought it wise to supply the materials which the mother groups will be using to sew the sanitary pads which the girls will be using during menstruation period,” said Mhango.
She also said that the materials will ease the duty of sewing the sanitary pads among the mother groups in the area, as she said that it takes long time and tiresome for the mother groups to sew the pads by hand without any sewing machine.
Mhango said that in 2015 they conducted an assessment in Mchichi aimed to find out the consequences which hinders girls education in the area and she said that due to the assessment many issues came out which include; lack of sexual reproductive services and information and menstrual hygiene management due to lack of sanitary materials.
The Project Manageress is confident that the supplied materials will bring change in attendance among school girls when they are doing their menstruation period.
“I am quite sure that the materials which we have supplied today will bring positive impact among girls in schools during menstruation period, and I hope that that the attendance of girls in schools will increase during menstrual period as they will be now using well made reusable menstruation pads,” she explained.
According to her, the project is being funded by Sexual Reproductive Health Rights African Trust-SRHR African Trust (SAT).
Chair lady for Nkhwazi mother group which is under GENET project in Mchinji, Veronica Mwanza said in an interview that herself and the members of her mother group was taking long time to sew the sanitary pads by hands, hence the materials which has been supplied will fasten the work of sewing the pads.
“We take long time to sew a sanitary pad by hand and it takes a whole day to sew a single pad without a sewing machine, hence the coming of the sewing machines supplied by GENET through SAT will ease our duty of sewing sanitary pads which we share to girls,” said Mwanza.
SAT country Programs Officer Novice Bamusi said that his organization thought it wise to work with GENET saying that his organization believes in promoting the living standards of girls in the country.
“As SAT we thought it important to work in partnership with GENET as we believe that when you have teach a girl child you have teach the nation, for this reason we want to assist in keeping the girls safe in schools by providing them with their necessities which one of the most important is menstrual hygiene sanitary pads,” Bamusi said.
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