At least 1,110 senior four girls sitting for the final school certificate exams in ten centres in Juba received 2,200 health pads for menstrual hygiene during the exams.
Stanbic Bank teamed up NGO Forum and Stromme Foundation to extend the helping hand to the girls as part of commemorating the global women empowerment month which started in March 8.
The five-day campaign programme that commenced on Monday and ended on Friday last week was attended by senior government officials of the ministry of education at state and national levels, among them Central Equatoria State Minister of Education Cirsio Zacharia and Director-General for gender Esther Akumu, among others.
“Culture makes it more difficult for girls to talk to their parents about their period, especially to ask their father for money to buy pads. And if the girl doesn’t have pad, she misses classes.”
“If girls don’t get support and they dropout of schools, parents are the ones to be blamed because they bear the responsivity to instruct and support girls,” said Zacharia, during the event at Supiri Secondary School on Monday last week.
A 2016 UN report indicates that one out of 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, drop out of school due to inability to access proper menstrual hygiene.
Speaking at the same function, Ester Akumu, the director for gender in the state ministry of education, said forced early marriages were also a major impediment.
“There are many challenges affecting girls, one of it is what we are here for (sanitary pads) which need collective responsibility and to stop and eliminate early and forced marriage,” she said.
Andrew Murugu, Stanbic Bank Country Head said the campaign is aimed at achieving gender equality which is moral duty every business entity should participate.
“Our urgent action is to ensure that our girls manage menstrual hygiene with dignity and confidence so they have just one less thing to worry about as they do their e exams,” he said.
According to the 2016 general education statistics, at least 3, 515 girls were dropped out due to either family-related issues or personal problems which include inability to access pads and trauma accompany therewith.