NYSC members enlighten teenagers on menstrual hygiene in Bayelsa

The National Youth Service Corps members in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa have described teenage girls as special beings who should be enlightened on menstrual hygiene.

The Project Leader of the members, Miss Chidera Ogbu, said on Monday in Igbogene Community town hall, Yenagoa, that the corps members would educate teenage girls on “Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual Health” in the community.

She explained that more than 350 sanitary pads had been distributed to the young girls.

She also said “menstrual hygiene and sexual awareness is one of the arising factors in the world today”.

She noted that many of the teenage girls could do what they should not have done because of lack of knowledge and ignorance.

Ogbu commended the sponsors of the Pad The Girls Project — Regenix Healthcare Services Ltd., O-Timo Globe Nigeria Ltd., Wondergirl Sanitary Pads, AIT, CodeXpress Programming Labs Karimart and El Rol Castle, among others.

According to her, the girls need to be educated on their sexual health, how to manage their menstrual hygiene.

“I believe that if one or two persons can listen and learn from what they have been taught, it will have impacts on their lives,” she said.

She urged other corps members to always leave a footprint anywhere they were serving by giving back to the society.

Also, Mrs Chinenye Owosina, Territory Sales Manager, Exxon Pharma (Nig.) Ltd., said that menstruation “is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman’s monthly cycle.

“Every month, your body prepares for pregnancy. If no pregnancy occurs, the uterus or womb, sheds its lining. The menstrual blood is partly blood and partly tissue from inside the uterus.

“Menstruation usually starts between 11 years of age and 14 years of age and continue until menopause at about age 51. They usually last from three to five days, bleeding from the vagina.

“Besides bleeding from the vagina, the concerned may have abdominal or pelvic cramps, lower back pain, bloating and sore breasts, food cravings, mood swings, irritability, headache and fatigue”.

According to her, good menstrual hygiene practices can prevent infections, reduce odours and help the concerned to stay comfortable during it.

Mr Ogbete Dasime, the Zonal Inspector, NYSC Yenagoa, encouraged those that were still serving not to keep their knowledge they had gain but to impact the society.

He urged the teenagers to be agents of change in their homes, environment, there schools, community and society.

One of the beneficiaries of the programme, Miss Tina Ovie, commended the sponsors and the chief host and other corps members for the sensitisation.