Having access to a sanitary napkin is one of the most challenging things to afford by a Big Babanki woman. As a result of the ongoing crisis affecting the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, most of these women and girls run to the bushes for safety without basic needs including sanitary napkins. Most often the road that leads to the main town where the napkins can be bought is blocked for weeks and very risky to travel. Markets in the villages have been shut down and traders focus on providing basic food stuff than sanitary napkins.
When my suiters and i started menstruating, the last time we ran away from the fighters, we had to cut our loins into smaller pieces and use. My sister who did not have a spare dress was using grass to pad herself, We are happy with the knowledge on menstruations and the pads given to us by H4BF ”
Teenage pregnancies have been on the rise in the community as men rape and impregnate women and girls. Other girls have adopted prostitution due to poverty, resulting to several abortions. These ills are on the rise due to inadequate knowledge on menstrual hygiene management and sexual, reproductive health rights. Providing these women and girls with sanitary pads is a boaster to a reduction to period stigma. This distribution has also gone a long way to solve the hygiene problem in the community, as they do not have access to portable water but depends on water from far off rivers for laundry and other uses. The women were so grateful receiving their sanitary pads while the boys and men were happy to receive for their sisters and mothers.
These activities aligns with H4BF project Providing access to Quality GBV services and Strengthening Resilience of Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Gender-Based Violence in Mezam and Donga Mantung, North West region of Cameroon, and proudly funded by Stichting Serra Foundation“