NGO Advocates Special Intervention for Girls in National Budget 

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

In commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, a non-governmental organisation, the Lakeside Rotary Club, has called for special intervention for girls in the national budgets. 

District Governor of Rotary International, Club D9128, Mike Nwanoshiri, made the call in Abuja yesterday when the NGO visited the Kuchigoro community and distributed 1,000 reusable sanitary pads, sewing machines, liquid soap, as well as a free training programme on how to produce the pads in Abuja.

He said the programme, which has been designed to take care of the hygienic aspect of womanhood, would be made easy and affordable for the women and girls, with the intervention of the government and other partners, whose roles are to support, encourage and empower them. 

He said: “We will continue to do the project and we will spread it to other communities where the Rotary Club is existing. We encourage that whenever we call for a programme, the chief should encourage the people to come out. Ours is to support, encourage and empower them.

“We would like the government to know that there’s a lot to be done for the girl child. When working on the national budget, it should be remembered that these girls are the future mothers. If they are not treated well, they will not be able to perform in society, hence the intervention of the Rotary Club,” he explained.

 On his part, the club’s president, Amobi Ogum said the initiative as well as the adoption of the community was to support the girls that faced stigmatisation, which resulted in their inability to attend school for some days due to their monthly cycle. 

He said with the price of sanitary pads becoming out of their reach, the intervention with the NAFDAC-approved products will boost their confidence and increase school attendance. 

He said: “We realised that many of the girls stayed away from school for three to four days because of the stigmatisation that comes with their menstrual cycle and because they can’t afford to take care of themselves within those days. The products we’ve come with are NAFDAC-approved,” Ogum said.

In his reaction to the club’s choice of the community, the Sakuchigoroyi of Kuchigoro, Ibrahim Wambi appreciated the group for always extending a helping hand to the community.