Menstrual Hygiene Day : Assisting Displaced Girls To Find Their Feet

 The charity, Building Together Cameroon, BTC recently marked this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2023 in its national headquarters in the Yaounde neighourhood of Nkolbisson. In attendance were 20 underprivileged young girls - all Internally-displaced People, IDPs from the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon - who came from all over Yaounde. 

Detergent, Beads For Income
Mrs. Catherine Bomki of BTC trained the girls in income-making activities such as the production of detergent and beads for various uses. “We're already on holidays and many parents no longer give their daughters pocket money. Some girls are tempted to offer themselves to boys in exchange for money to buy sanitary towels. This results in unwanted pregnancies and girls dropping out of school. Our objective is to offer training so that these girls sell what they produce and avoid temptation,” Mrs. Bomki explained.

Seed “Capital” Offered
After the training, each girl was able to produce bracelets, earrings, beads, and other items. To conclude the day, dignity kits were distributed to the girls. These consisted of sanitary towels, detergent, “black soap”, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc). Start-up kits for their chosen activity - beads for those who want to make and sell beads and products for those who want to make and detergent - were also handed out. 

Helping Them Discover Their Talents
Earlier, BTC Executive Director, Mrs. Endouh Anna Yerimah, acknowledged that young girls have great potentials, thus the need for them to be assisted to discover their different talents. On her part, Mrs. Pauline Matchim, the President of the “Association Femmes et Enfants,” who came from Douala, sensitized the internally-displaced girls on human sexuality. Using the participatory approach, she encouraged the girls to express themselves without fear or taboos through guided questioning. 

Of Sexuality And Genitality 
“The whole universe is sexual; plants reproduce naturally and are sometimes helped by insects and birds. The animal world also respects nature in its reproduction system. Men and animals belong to the same world, but the difference lies in man's intelligence, which prevents him from acting on instinct like animals,” Matchim said.

Each Lady Is Unique!
“There is a difference between sexuality and genitality. Sexuality considers the whole being; it is each person's way of acting, thinking and doing; a unique way that differentiates them from others because no two beings are identical. Each person is unique….” she continued. “I am myself,” “I am unique,” “I am not dad,” “I am not mum,” etc, the young girls all responded in choruses to the facilitator.

Tackling “Strange” Bodily Changes 
Genitality, Matchim explained, is one part of sexuality and only concerns reproduction. And so sexuality cannot be reduced to genitality, she cautioned. “As humans, we cannot know how plants and animals feel or experience reproduction. Humans feel it because the reproductive system is set in motion and it turns the whole system upside down. The body has several functions &...