Education
Lilongwe — Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) has supplied materials for sewing sanitary pads in its ongoing project called 'Happy health and safe project' which is currently running in the area of Traditional Authority Mavwere in Mchinji.
The supplied items include; one electric sewing machine, two manual sewing machines, one over lock machines, cloth and sewing accessories, pair of scissors and needles.
Speaking at Waliranji Primary School in Mchinji where the items were handed over, GENET Project Manager, Tamala Mhango said their organization thought it wise to supply the materials after noticing the challenges girls face when they are doing menstruation during school time.
"As GENET we observed that many girls in schools do not concentrate in class when they are menstruating hence, we decided to supply the materials which the mother groups will be using to sew sanitary pads which the girls will be using during menstruation period," said Mhango.
She said the materials will ease the duty of sewing the sanitary pads among the mother groups in the area, noting that it takes a long time and becomes tiresome for the mother groups to sew the pads by hand without any sewing machine.
Mhango said in 2015 they conducted an assessment in Mchinji aimed to find out factors which hinder girls education whose finds revealed the lack of sexual reproductive services and information on menstrual hygiene management.
The Project Manager is confident that the supplied materials would 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 the attendance of girls in schools will increase during menstrual period as they will now be using well made reusable menstruation pads," she explained.
According to her, the project is being funded by Sexual Reproductive Health Rights African Trust-SRHR -SAT.
Chair lady for Nkhwazi mother group which is under GENET project in Mchinji, Veronica Mwanza told Mana that as mother group members they were taking long time to sew the sanitary pads by hand, hence the materials which have been supplied will hasten the work.
"We take long time to sew a sanitary pad by hand and it takes the 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 told Mana that his organization thought it wise to work with GENET since 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 since we believe that when you teach a girl child you have taught the nation. For that reason we want to assist in keeping the girls safe in schools by providing them with their necessities one of which is the menstrual hygiene sanitary pad," said Bamusi.