The Women’s Ministry of the Wa Area of the Church of Pentecost has donated sanitary pads to at least 100 young girls at Wa, in the Upper West Region.
The gesture, which was in accordance with the International Day for the Girl-child, also served as a platform for the women to interact with the girls to discuss reproductive health and menstrual cycle issues with them.
The girls were asked to practice good personal hygiene during their menstrual period, and to avoid sex to help reduce teenage pregnancy in the region.
Mrs. Abigail Naa Densua Tackie, the wife of the Area Head of the Church for Wa,addressing girls and their parents at a meeting, over the weekend, advised young girls to avoid sexual relations with men.
She advised girls to rather pay attention to their education in order to realise their ambitions in future.
Mrs Tackie assured the girls of the church’s readiness to support them physically and emotionally, and called on parents to play their role by strengthening communication with their children on personal hygiene and reproductive health.
“Parents must make time for their teenage daughters and discuss issues with them so that they do not fall victim to dishonest men, who will lure them into sexual relationships,” she charged.
Ms Hamida Dawuda, a midwife at the Wa Municipal Hospital,educated the the girls on reproductive health issues such as menstrual cycle and menstrual hygiene.She also sensitized them to hormonal and physical changes that occur when girls startto menstruate.
“Menstruation is a normal thing that every young adolescent girl would experience, so do not feel shy to talk to your parents about issues concerning your menstrual cycle,”Ms Dawuda said.
She advised girls to drink more water during menstruation and to “eat lot of healthy food, such as fruits and vegetables as well as protein-giving food, such as fish and meat for the body to regain the blood it had shed.”
The women also presented copies of the Bible and books to the girls.
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK, WA
