The dawn of February 16 was of paramount significance in the light of Othakarhaka Foundation’s mission to provide quality health care services to girls and women alike as the charity-oriented organization was successful in reaching out to 110 primary and secondary school girls who did partake in a training on the production of reusable sanitary pads at its headquarters in Chambe, Mulanje.
The training was facilitated by Peter Mndalasini who is at the time a leading male champion in the provision of menstrual health for girls. Of note, Peter is a colleague in service and the founder of “10+ Her Period Her Pride”, a nonprofit initiative which is currently leading the advocacy voice for equity and decency in the menstrual period for school going girls in Malawi.
Reacting to the training, a band wagon of girls expressed identical appreciation words for Othakarhaka Foundation claiming that the development in mention is a huge step towards their menstrual health which often times becomes a problem as most of them can’t afford the luxury of disposable sanitary pads due to limited finances.
“On a couple of occasion I have failed to report for classes because I was faced with menstruation but with no pads at my disposal. As such, I could just skip school until the menstrual days were over. It is not just me as a number of my friends were also facing a similar challenge. The introduction of reusable sanitary pads in our community by Othakarhaka foundation is a massive to us girls,” said one of the girls who asked for anonymity.
Speaking of the same, Ida Puliwa Mwango who is the Executive director for Othakarhaka Foundation assured the girls that Othakarhaka will continue to provide training on new information and innovations as pertaining to reusable sanitary pads.
“As an organization that is very much interested in the menstrual health of girls, we are mandated to make provision of sanitary pads whenever resources permit and we are also obliged to initiate trainings on the same so that girls are self-reliant when it comes to the production of sanitary pads,” said Mwango.
Othakarhaka Foundation conducted the reusable sanitary pads training under the banner of its Health program which has interest in palliative care, family planning and cervical cancer screening.