Ekwendeni Youth Centre: the education we deliver...

We were invited to deliver a talk about women's health to the girls that attend the local youth group in Ekwendeni. We all huddled into one of the spare rooms of the centre. Around 20 girls were present, ages ranged from 10-30yrs. When planning our teaching we didn't know what age the girls would be, so we kept it nice and simple. Considering the variety of ages of the group we were happy we kept our teaching basic but packed full of information.

We talked the girls through the menstrual cycle, how they may feel before/during/after a period, pregnancy, STI's and contraception. We got the girls involved by playing some games then asked the girls if they had any questions for us. Initially slow, the questions soon came in quick after the first couple had been asked. We were asked all sorts of questions surrounding cycle length and side effects of different contraception. Mainly the girls asked us about personal hygiene when a girl is menstruating. There were all sorts of myths and beliefs that were false. But the overriding problem seemed to be a lack of sanitary pads for the girls.

The girls were so happy (jumping with excitement) when we explained that its possible for them to make re-usable pads for as little as K70 (around 7p in GBP). Community projects through CDFG will soon be in place for these girls to learn how to make them. Currently re-usable sanitary pads are available in some towns for around K250 (around 25p in GBP). These pads are sold at cost, but many girls will still struggle to afford K250. By teaching the girls how to make these pads themselves the cost will be as little as K70, for many girls this is affordable.

We aim to create a project that gives skills to girls, we want to reduce dependency on donations and provide real solutions.