The Services Secondary School Juba, west of Freetown, is the nineteenth (19th) school to benefit from Orange Sierra Leone’s reproductive health services and education to schools in the Western area.
The Company which is rolling out 2,000 ecofriendly menstrual hygiene packs to twenty schools in the first phase over a five year period will be rolling out 10,000 packs in total to one hundred selected schools across the country.
The project is consistent with a pledge made by the company during the launching of the Free Quality Education by President Bio in August, 2018.
The Company’s CEO, Madam Aminata had pledged USD 1.5 million material support to the scheme through five projects in menstrual hygiene packs for school girls, super coders, solar packs and building of laboratories and educational support to teachers.
With the menstrual hygiene packs like the others, the company is collaborating with Girl Child Network Sierra Leone, the producers of the first ecofriendly packs in the Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, to provide the hygiene packs to the schools and also roll out an health education talk to the girls on how to maintain their menstrual periods.
Desmond Spaine, Head of CSR, Orange Sierra Leone who is heading the team, entreated the school authorities in the nineteen schools visited so far starting from the west, central, east and rural areas, to support the girls during their menstrual periods.
He expressed concern that they at Orange are aware that Girls are increasingly challenged to stay in schools while they are undergoing their menstruation.
The CSR Manager continued that they are providing the menstrual packs and reproductive health education to the girls to help stay in schools and achieve the benefits of President Bio’s Free Quality Education.
This, he concluded, is the contribution of Orange Sierra Leone which is not only in Sierra Leone to make money but also to give back to society.
Abibatu Kamara of Girl Child Network Sierra Lone gave a short talk to the schools girls at Services Secondary School Juba during the presentation of one hundred menstrual hygiene reusable packs and encouraged them to open-up the discussions around menstrual hygiene to their teachers, parents and all other people who could support them during this period.
The issue of menstruation should no longer be a taboo and many girls have encountered problems as a result of the secrecy that has surrounded the process.
Authorities at Services Secondary School Juba lauded Orange Sierra Leone as usual for supporting the school and the girls by extension in menstrual hygiene packs and Education.
They recounted that they have been spending towards procuring disposable pads for girls who undergo their menstruation while in school.
Elizabeth Grace Kanu, an SS 2 pupil of the school, thanked Orange Sierra Leone for the gesture and assured them that they will take what have been imparted to them in good faith.
She thanked the President for the Free Quality Education scheme and entreated her colleagues to put on very good examples while in school.
The climax of the ceremony was the handing over of the 100 menstrual hygiene packs to the schools’ authorities by Orange Sierra Leone.