Talk on girls’ hygiene (Jalige Govt School),YFS Bangalore

Talk on girls’ hygiene (Jalige Govt School),YFS Bangalore

On January 27, 2011, Vyjayanti, Mrs. Shalini Bhogle, Mr. Kalawar, Mr. Shantaram and I travelled to a Government High School in Jalige, a village in Devanahalli Taluk, and just a 1.5 hr drive from Bangalore. The purpose of our visit was to conduct a session on Personal Hygiene for Adolescent girls, followed by distribution of Sanitary Napkins. Given below is a brief report:

Number of girls present – nearly 100 (Classes VIII, IX and X)

Number of teachers present – 6 (all lady teachers)

Duration of the session – 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Sanitary Napkins distributed – 54 (for 10th std. girls only)

Total number of girls who have attained puberty – around 75

….

We were introduced to this school by Mr. Kalawar through Mr. Shantaram, a Rotarian, who also runs his own trust. On reaching the school, the first thing we noticed was the warmth of the lady teachers and the discipline of the students. Vyjayanti & I divided the session between oursevles, and here is how we went about it:

….

Session 1 – To break the ice and get the girls comfortable, Vyjayanti and I began by narrating our personal experiences as adolescents. Following this, five girls from 8th, 9th & 10th “volunteered” to share their experience as well. It was absolutely wonderful to see them feel so free to share their personal experiences.

….

Session 2 – This session was done by me and it focussed on clearing the usual doubts, myths and wrong perceptions that are generally associated with menstruation. It covered topics like normal age group, regularity, counting a cycle, when to seek doctor’s advice, what causes menstruation, why it is not impure, etc.

….

Session 3 – This was done by Vyjayanti and the focus was to teach the girls about hygiene during menstruation. It covered the biological aspects, use & disposal of sanitary pads, maintaining personal hygiene, PMS, etc. A demo of how to use a pad was also given. Boldly enough, an 8th standard girl came forward to do the demo which surprised and pleased us all !

….

Session 4 – This session was a question & answer session and the girls really had a lot of questions ranging from irregular periods to pregnancy to menopause !! We had a wonderful time interacting with the girls and clearing their doubts. We also instructed the teachers to provide adequate facility in the school toilets (dustbins, newspapers, etc) so that the girls do not absent themselves from school due to this issue. Mrs. Shalini Bhogle too actively participated in interacting with the girls.

….

Distribution: Sanitary Napkins procured from Mount Carmel college, Bangalore were distributed for around 54 students from Class X, by Mrs. Shalini Bhogle. Given the fact that majority of them were not using pads before, it will be a very important step for them.

….

Way forward: It is not enough that we distribute pads one time, and forget about it. To make things sustainable, Vyjayanti suggested that the if the girls can bear 50% of the cost, we will find a donor for the remaining 50%. As of now, Mount Carmel sells a pack having 8 pads for Rs. 18. The teachers have agreed that they will request the girls’ parents to pay Rs.9 per month with the school fee itself.

….

Mr. Shantaram, who introduced us to the school, has very kindly offered to pay the remaining 50% (Rs.9) for all the girls for an entire academic year, through his Trust. Usually they sponsor notebooks for needy children in the same school. But now, they feel that it is a more worthy cause to sponsor Sanitary Napkins for all High School girls. And the fact that the girls pay only Re.1 per pad makes it affordable as well. The plan will be implemented from the coming academic year, June 2011.

We hope that more organizations/trusts/individuals come forward to help this cause in other village schools as well.