World Menstrual Hygiene Day: How boys di helep girls for Cameroon school during dia menstrual period
For Cameroon one program, menstrual hygiene for girls in school don make boys dem become leaders for helep dia classmate, girls dem during dia menses.
"Before ah bi use to laugh girls wen deh stain dis uniforms during dia menses, mock at dem, but now ah don change di helep girls dem instead", Nyamsi Kamto Durand, for Bilingual, Industrial and Commercial School tell BBC News Pidgin. "Ah bi young leader and ma role na for accompany my classmates, helep dem calculate dia cycle, make deh know wen and how for wear pad make deh no di stain dia uniform", Nyamsi tok. Even when deh stain dia uniform ah di helep for tell dem say na natural tin, deh no suppose for shame, e add. Ah di tell all ma dem make we support we classmate dem, change we behaviour no make girls shame and no laugh dem wen de stain dia uniform. Nyamsi change na for seka project for Menstrual Hygiene for girls for schools dem for Cameroon helep change Nyamsi e mind. Non-governmental organisation, Horizon Femmes di coordinate de project wit oda NGOs and goment ministries for education health and mayors for three regions, Centre, Littoral and West regions. Horizon Femmes don train young leaders dem for tok for odas about menstrual hygiene, and before de project end for 2020, deh 72 young leaders go train di mates dem. Ngoumjouen Pasma Rosalie na di project manager for Horizon Femmes Ngoumjouen Pasma Rosalie project manager for Horizon Femmes say deh start de project for seka say girls dem bin din absent took much and abandon school. Afta one research 2012/2014 deh see say for manage menses na still problem for schools as na one of de tins dem weh deh di slow girls for compete wit boys dem for class. Wen ngondere di see yi flower, e di absent from school or e fit stop school, wen deh no fit justify de taim weh deh no bin bi for school and deh fit end up for abandon school, United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA sponsor research weh Horizon Femmes do'am. So we di teach dem for use pad, den how for keep pad weh deh fit wash'am, steap'am for omo, for hot wata, wash'am, dry'am for sun den iron'am, Ngoumjouen tok. "We di show pikin dem how for wear pad for way wey deh no go stain dem selves, position'am fain gum'am for middle, make sure say e di reach front and back, make dia dross di hold fain, for stop stain", Horizon Femmes worker explain. Also deh suppose change afta every three hours, na de reason weh de project lobby make schools dem get toilets for girls, wata and savon. Some schools dem don get beta hygiene tins since weh deh no bin bi before de project. De project di give pads dem for school for helep de girls dem weh wen deh stain dia uniform or dey in need for go take'am use. One of de girls, Nikelem Sandra tell BBC News pidgin say e don learn plenti for de project. Even if e nova stain e uniform, deh di helep oda girls dem.