World Menstrual Hygiene Day in Asisiriwa

Those of you who have been following this blog know that Mary, our teacher at Kasadwini Atenaeɛ (our language arts center in the village of Asisiriwa, Ghana), discovered a personal passion for girls’ health education after she realized that many of the girls in the village didn’t know how to take care of themselves when they started menstruating and couldn’t afford hygiene products. She started a small weekly after-school support group at the learning center where girls could come and have a safe space to ask questions about what they were going through. Soon after, we sent her and Kumi, our librarian, to Accra for training with Dialogue Genitalia Ghana. Mary then started offering health classes in Asisiriwa, which spread to neighboring villages when they found out about the valuable resources she was offering.

During this time, Mary connected with an organization called CouldYou?, which came to Asisiriwa with menstrual cups for a number of girls, a potentially more sustainable solution that could save them a lot of money and anxiety in regards to access to hygiene products.

World Menstrual Hygiene Day event takes place at Asisiriwa

Another exciting development in this saga took place on May 27th of this year. It was World Menstrual Hygiene Day, an annual advocacy platform that seeks to break the silence, raise awareness, and destigmatize menstrual health and hygiene. Mary, along with representatives from CouldYou? organized an event in Asisiriwa, and the turnout was better than anything she could have expected.

Not only were there a number of people from CouldYou?—coming all the way from Accra six hours away—there with snacks and gifts for the girls of Asisiriwa, the village itself contributed the use of the community center and drinking water for all the participants.

The chief, Nana Kantanka Sarfo, and his elders came out, even giving speeches in support of the effort. Four nurses and a midwife from the surrounding area, along with a number of teachers from Asisiriwa and the nearby village of Boneagya were also in attendance.

Another organization called Her Lordship Foundation came out and gave packs of sanitary pads to the girls, which—along with some we donated—meant that the girls were equipped with two packs each. Boys in the community also came to see what was going on and to celebrate with their classmates. The media even showed up: a Ghanaian TV station called Adom TV was there to capture the event, airing the footage the next day at 7:00 pm. As Mary excitedly told me, “Asisiriwa is on TV oo!”

Overall, the event was a huge success, one that was unimaginable to Mary when she first started that small support group last year—she was beside herself with joy.

Watch the Adom TV segment below (audio in Twi)

We’re so proud of Mary and the initiative she’s shown over the past year, seeing a need in her community, and jumping on it, leading a charge that has brought the girls of Asisiriwa a level of support and validation that simply wasn’t available to them before.

It’s amazing what happens when you partner with great, motivated people and begin offering additional educational support to those who really want it.

Great job, Mary!