Reusable Pads for Menstrual Hygiene in Cameroon

Hello, my name is Maiya Block and I am a volunteer in Community Education For Life (CEFLife), a registered local non-profit association, based in Bamenda, North West Region of Cameroon. I am fundraising to help CEFLife in the new project t has undertaken to train, sew and distribute reusable pad to internally displaced indigenous women in Cameroon.

The population of the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon is experiencing a prolonged and ongoing socio-political crisis that has resulted in an armed conflict. This has consequently resulted in a massive movement of 679,393 people from villages to urban areas for safety.  A majority of the people who have been displaced are highly vulnerable communities like women (60%)  and children (43%) who have lost their husbands, sons, brothers, children, and other family relatives. Some have lost their properties and their homes and cannot continue to live in the bushes because they have limited or no access to basic amenities such as clean water, hygiene and sanitation, health care, market, schools, and churches.  A good number of these women who are internally displaced have lost their livelihood and depend on others (host communities) to survive.

As a humanitarian act, CEFLife identified, lobbied for, and distributed dignity kits 45 young women affected by the crisis, including indigenous (Mbororo) women. We realize that about 75% of the internally displaced indigenous women have limited access to clean pads to take care of their menstrual hygiene which is an alarming situation. The women are particularly poor and suffer from discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence, limited education and poor health because of cultural practices. They have limited financial means to pads to ensure menstrual hygiene. To cope with this deplorable situation, they expressed a need for assistance. The women are closed to 200 in number and however, only about 30 of them benefited from our distribution exercise due to limited capacity in terms of finances and resources.

We plan to train and empower 60 women to sew and own 6 reusable clean pads for proper menstrual hygiene. We will also sew and distribute 6 pads each to the rest of the women as indirect beneficiaries. We will use the funds raised to acquire 2 mini sewing machines, stainless cotton materials, 60 block notes, 60 Pens, 60 Scissors, Needles, Sewing threats, Tacking pins, 60 Measuring tapes, 2 roles of flip charts, 1 packet bold markers, communication credit,  transport, and training hall for project implementation.

We solicit your support to make a difference in the lives of these young women who are living in such gruelling conditions and are struggling to survive in a challenging crisis to access clean and sustainable reusable menstrual pads which are some basic necessities of life. This will help in creating a definite change in attitude towards safer menstrual hygiene management, reproductive health rights, sexual behaviour, and more awareness of gender issues.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. We highly appreciate your goodness and assure you that your donation will go towards improving menstrual hygiene and the health of vulnerable women and put a smile on their faces.

PICTURE OF DISTRIBUTION EXERCISE