The Sylvia Lawson Foundation launched to educate girls on menstrual health
A foundation which seeks to educate girls on menstrual health and hygiene has been launched in Accra.
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Known as The Sylvia Lawson Foundation (TSLF), the foundation is targeted at distributing over 25,000 sanitary pads to over 6,009 students in eight schools across the Volta and Upper East regions.
The sanitary pads will be distributed to adolescent females between the ages of 15 and 20 who attend lower graded senior high schools.
The launch, which took place last Saturday was attended by members of the foundation, representatives from corporate institutions and partners.
The Founder of the foundation, Sylvia Adwoa Lawson, said over the years, many girls in primary and senior high schools across the country had been unable to buy hygienic sanitary towels for proper menstrual care.
That, she said, had led to some young ladies resorting to the use of many unconventional means to support themselves during their menstrual period.
"Hygienic menstrual practices in adolescents must not be taken for granted.
Girls who contract reproductive infections through the wrong use of absorbent materials during their menstrual flow might be unable to get access to healthcare to treat themselves," she said
The situation, Mrs Lawson said was a sad one which called for interventions from governmental authorities, non-governmental organisations and private bodies, adding that “I know what the foundation stands for”.
“It is up to you and me to lock hands and heart and support the foundation to reach out to our vulnerable girls and restore their dignity to brighten up their future," she added.
Natural phenomenon
The Municipal Chief Executive for Tema West, Anna Adukwei Addo, said it was disheartening that a natural phenomenon such as menstrual period could infringe on the basic human rights of the girl child.
The lack of menstrual hygiene products such as sanitary pads, she said, made the girl child have low self-esteem, lack confidence as well as face humiliation from the opposite sex.
Ms Addo congratulated the founder for the initiative and encouraged all to support her to help young girls.
The Assistant Headteacher, Administration, of the Tema Secondary School, Sarah Gershong also encouraged the founder not to look at only the rural areas, but also support girls in the city.
“You will be surprised to know that the period poverty is not in the deprived areas alone, but it is also in the cities and there are some communities even here in Accra who need these sanitary tools,” she said.