Foundation For the Advancement of Girls Donates to 50 Physically Challenged Girls

At least 50 physically challenged and school-going girls have benefited from the distribution of menstrual pads including other non-food items donated by the Foundation for the Advancement of Girls, a local charity group in Liberia. 
The donation was in observance of the Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration.
According to the Executive Director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Girls, Mrs. N’bete Smallwood Gizzie, the donation was part of efforts to create awareness among poor and vulnerable girls on the safe usage of menstrual pads and provide them access.
The 50 beneficiaries were drawn from a disabled home-Mission of Hope for Disabled in in Jacob's town, and Future Leaders Academy School in the Coca-Cola factory community; two of the poorest communities outside the capital –Monrovia.
“The message is based on how to stay healthy during menstruation and breaking the Myths or taboo surrounding menstruation which many Liberians parents are not willing to share with their girls”
“Each of the girls was given a package containing sanitary pads; toothpaste, toothbrushes, bath soap and cotton swap for ears, we also donated assorted things like food, detergents and water to the disabled home” Mrs. Gizzie said.
Joyous But Worried
Joy filled the hearts of the girls as they lauded the organization for the donation, but are worried about the continuous availability of the pads after they have assorted what has been given to them.
“We want to thank the organization for these things, may God bless you, we are very happy that someone or a group is thinking about us”
“But our worry now is can we have the pad every month when these ones are finished, we are disabled and have no income to always purchase it, right this is my first time to use this kind of pad, I have been using cloth all along,” One of the girls said receiving the items.
Providing girls access to education about their body and reproductive health is cardinal and largely contributes to their well-being health rights.
Contributing to SDG 3
As clearly stated in the Sustainable Development Goal number 3 – which calls for Good Health and Well-Being, helping girls take properly take control of their menstrual period The Foundation believes drives to achieving goal 3 though the effort may seem small, it makes a difference.
The world has set one of the targets under goal number 3 to provide “universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs” to be achieved by 2020 by countries that subscribed to the SDGs and Liberia is no exception.
In Liberia, the extreme poverty among the vast majority of the population has also led parents and young women unable to purchase a $1.00 US Dollar menstrual pad a month. They are each day focused on getting a meal for their survivability a day.