Cho Ngafor Foundation Builds Bridges in Bamenda for Proper Menstrual Hygiene Management

Cho Ngafor Foundation Builds Bridges in Bamenda for Proper Menstrual Hygiene Management

A project dubbed "Strengthening the Capacity of 30 Girls and Young Women as Champions of Menstrual Hygiene Management and Producers of Dorena Pads" has been executed in Bamenda, N.W region of Cameroon. Realised by Cho Ngafor Foundation, for two days, precisely 25 - 26 September 2021, participants gained theoretical and practical knowledge on menstrual hygiene management at the end of which they resolved to lobby for the implementation of a menstrual hygiene policy mostly in schools, churches and public places.

Though being a natural occurrence in all girls/women, indicating maturity and readiness for child bearing, several myths and taboos still surround the subject. In other instances, coded words like "mbra", "period", "flower", "monthly salary" etc are used to describe the process which obviously shouldn't be the case, reason why attendees were educated on the need to call a spade a spade so that young girls for example don't grow up with a wrong perception about menstruation, the vagina, penis, sex etc. 

Practical Session on Dorena Pads Production

Cutting of Stencil to Make Dorena Pads

Away from the myths and taboos related to menstruation, on lobbying stakeholders for the implementation of a menstrual hygiene policy in work places, attendees resolved to advocate for all work places to have a constantly filled pad bank, allocate a specific toilet or room for menstruating girls/women, make available extra uniforms and toiletries, avoid menstrual stigmatisation from male employees and rude female bosses, make provision for means of disposal like iron waste cans for burning and water buckets for reusable pads. 

With regards to schools, it was resolved that the administration especially principals shall be convinced to create a chance for menstrual hygiene management in schools, make provision for water and soap in school toilets to ease girls on their menses to change, increase the availability of pads in schools, teach young girls especially those between 9 to 11 years what menstruation is all about, encourage them to use the right words not coded language when menstruating and to feel free around friends and on campus when seeing their menses not like they're dirty.

Some Participants with their Kits for the Establishment of Sewing Hubs

Participants Listening to Lectures

With regards to churches, opinions were shared as to the need for the creation of a health care commission, provision of pad banks in toilets, bags and buckets for disposal in case of no toilets, bring parents and youths together to educate them on menstruation, do presentations like dramas to demonstrate how girls and women can manage their menstruation just to name these few. Considering that pads are a basic necessity for the female folk yet not all can afford, the Cho Ngafor Foundation's founder Doreen Bieri has for many years now been advocating for the promotion of the fabrication and usage of reusable pads she's named after her as "Dorena pads". It is for this reason that the young girls and women were taught the step by step process of producing such. 

After day one of the training exercise, all confessed about its enriching nature. Taking rounds to reveal lessons learnt, beginning with Elvira, she said that "Keeping the taboos and myths is a wrong practice and so we should learn to live freely with our situation because it's natural." To Modest, she's learnt the importance of reusable pads and how to take care of them, same opinion shared by Brenda who added that she's learnt to cut out stencils to make them and proper storage in bags and safe places to avoid contamination. Joyce on her part talked about the avoidance of coded language to describe menstruation. While Noella said she's learnt that in order for one to be comfortable in society, she needs to first of all accept herself and accept the fact that she menstruates, Juliette on her part talked of having learnt how to handle herself when surprised by menstruation.

Tool Box Offered to Each Participant

Materials Used for the Making of Reusable Pads

The last speakers talked of learning how women should be empowered so they don't go "extra miles" just to have money to buy their pads, make institutions like schools, churches and work places comfortable for menstruating women/girls and in summary, menstrual hygiene management. Before drawing the curtains on day one of the workshop, participants were engaged into practical lessons on how to produce reusable (Dorena) pads beginning with measurements and cutting of stencils.  

The practical lessons were intensified on day two as each participant was provided a tool box containing all the necessary items required for the fabrication of such pads like thread, needle, scissors, towels and others. For hours, they were guided on how to go about the proper cutting, placement and sewing exercise. This was the high point of the two days workshop coordinated by three main facilitators at the end of which each attendee successfully produced a Dorena pad. They were dressed in Cho Ngafor personalised t-shirts carrying messages like "Period Stigma is Old Fashioned", "Being my Own Boss in Menstrual Hygiene Management", "Menstruation is Not a Shame", "Sanitary Pads, My Companion" etc

In evaluating the impact and outcome of the two days come together so that the organiser can better plan on subsequent phases, Joyceline Nina, one of the participants complained of the lengthy nature of the sessions while Ngo Modest testified though having attended several workshops on menstrual hygiene management in the past, this was the first where she learnt how to actually produce reusable pads. To Albertine Nwpapye, it was her first experience of attending a workshop, reason why she was so happy with the things learnt that shall be of great help to her like self empowerment (financial autonomy) in order to provide for one's basic needs. 

Cho Ngafor Foundation's Mission

Facilitators Guiding Participants

The trio ended by promising to take the knowledge to other young girls in their respective communities upon return home through the organisation of such training exercises or meeting them in their various youth, church and social groups to pass on the knowledge unto them. At the close of the seminar, some participants were handed menstrual hygiene management kits that shall be used in various hubs expected to be formed in their communities for the fabrication of Dorena pads. 

Madam Nangplay Linda Tagni is the Assistant Program's Manager of Cho Ngagor Foundation. Speaking to Mbengwi Online on the raison d'être of the workshop, she said "We are building bridges for proper menstrual hygiene management by training 30 girls on the subject. So far, we've met our objectives of training them to debunk the myths and taboos surrounding menstruation, engage stakeholders in schools, workplaces and churches to create safe spaces for menstruating girls and women and finally teach them how to produce their own reusable pads." She rated it a successful occasion based on the happiness expressed by the participants and the commitment they've taken to engage other girls in their communities  through the creation of sewing hubs where the trained girls shall in turn teach their peers and colleagues the process of making their own personal pads with the materials offered to them.

Madam Nangplay Linda Tagni, Assistant Program's Manager of Cho Ngagor Foundation.

Are sanitary pads really that expensive to the extent where many can't afford till they now have to be making a Dorena Pad that they'll use and reuse for months or maybe years? This was a question Mbengwi Online posed to Madam Linda. In response, she said "No, it's not about being poor. The initiative to produce their own reusable pads is so that when that emergency comes up, they can easily attend to it without necessarily running to buy a pad and in the case where a girl can't afford one at that moment, she will still be able to manage her menstruation without necessarily struggling to get money from somewhere to buy one especially as the materials used to make them are easily gotten and quite good for the woman's skin."

As for the advantages reusable pads have over disposable ones, she said they're cheaper and made out of materials one knows. In some communities nowadays it is still believed that menstruating women aren't supposed to plant or harvest certain crops on the basis that the yield will be affected negatively while others like Muslims don't permit menstruating women to pray. "Menstruation is a natural something that every woman experiences and therefore we shouldn't be stopped from doing certain things because society feels that at that stage you're dirty or unclean. It's wrong" she ended.