SNAPSHOTS OF YEAR 2024
Menstrual Health and Hygiene
Year 2024 was a great was another year when great milestones in Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) were achived, courtesy of funding from USAID through their implementing partner IREX. We once again implementend a research alongside our normal programming.
We needed to know how effective past engagements with religious and community leaders are in influencing the passing of accurate information during the rites of passage so that we can improve the delivery of the program to ensure that girls gain appropriate MHH education during the rite of passage. This was important because improving school-based MHH directly supports girls’ education by addressing barriers like stigma, absenteeism, and lack of resources. Integrating MHH into school systems and involving religious leaders creates supportive environments that empower girls to manage menstruation confidently, enhancing academic participation.
We used a combination of in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions to collect the data. In-depth interviews with school-aged girls focused on their experiences with menstrual health education during rites of passage and challenges they face. Key informant interviews with religious and community leaders captured their perspectives on MHH practices and their roles in delivering accurate information.Focus group discussions with religious leaders provided insights into group dynamics, shared practices, and their collective influence on rites of passage. 29 school-aged girls participated in in-depth interviews. 28 religious and community leaders were involved in key informant interviewss. 63 religious leaders participated in focus group discussions. The involvement of school-aged girls, community leaders, and religious counselors across interviews and focus groups provided diverse insights. This pushed the team to design interventions that addressed varied perspectives and needs. Alongsinde the R2C, 90 Religious Counselors and Community Leaders were trained in MHH. 300 girls received Ambassador of Womens Health education and received 300 washable menstrual hygiene kits. 150 boys underwent Men Who Know (MWK) training to create supportive environments aroud women and girls. In addition:
- 17 MHH Clubs were established in Schools in all 3 districts of our engagement. This demonstrated the success of integrating menstrual health education into schools. The data pushed the team to scale up these clubs and designate trained teachers as mentors, ensuring sustained support for girls.
- As our knowledge product we translated MHH materials for teaching into 3 Local Languages (Chichewa, Yao, Tumbuka). Translating MHHl materials into local languages significantly improved accessibility and engagement. This statistic reinforced the need for culturally and linguistically tailored resources to enhance understanding and acceptance.
Change certainly took place in a number of stakeholders mainly through the education sessions among the religious leaders, traditional counselors and the youth as well as distribution of Menstrual health and hygiene kits. Here are some notable quotes:
(Religious leader) “I can now boldly stand in church to talk about menstruation. At first I thought talking about this in church it’s against the scriptures but with the coming in of this program I have realized that many of our people have suffered because of lack of this knowledge and I will take it up personally”.
(One of the girls): “I was staying with my mom and when I started my periods she sent some women who gave me advice that I needed to sleep with a man to show that I am matured. My conscience could not allow me. Thereafter, I came to stay with my grandmother and was fortunate enough I participated in the first program which gave me courage to advise other girls that starting periods is not a mandate to start to sleep with boys/men.”
(Sheikh): “Today, we have learned about a matter that has been veiled in silence for too long. It is vital for our communities to embrace this understanding with compassion and respect. Let us work to create communities where every woman feels valued and respected, and where no girl misses opportunities because of a lack of resources or understanding.”
Traditional Authorities received our interventions wholeheartedly and have gone ahead to implement bylaws that are helping to end menstrual harmful practices in their areas. One of them had this to say: “Thank you for this initiative and I urge everyone here to take this knowledge forward. Let us educate others and work together to build a community where every woman feels valued, respected, and supported during her menstrual cycle.”
