Menstrual Health Management & Inclusive Education Take Center Stage in Chad

With ECW funding, Jesuit Refugee Service Chad is providing the foundation for menstrual hygiene management and inclusive education across Chad

By Education Cannot Wait

February 4^th, 2022

Adapted story from the field. Special contribution by JRS Chad (View original)

“If you educate a man, you educate an individual. If you educate a woman, you educate an entire nation.” ~Ghanaian intellectual James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey

Across the Lake Chad and Logone Oriental regions of Chad, adolescent girls are no longer missing school on the days they have their period.

Instead of feeling shame and discomfort, a new initiative is ensuring that through proper care and resources, young women in the country feel empowered to carry on with their schooling, gain confidence and independence, and are given the opportunity to contribute more than ever to their communities.

Since 2021, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Chad – in consortium with ACRA and CELIAF, and the support of UNICEF – has participated in the production of Menstrual Health Management (MHM) kits. These kits are manufactured at a local-level by the Tchad Helping Hand Foundation. The initiative is made possible with funding from Education Cannot Wait, the UN's global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

In addition to the kits, JRS has been holding MHM teacher trainings and different awareness raising activities within schools and communities to combat stigma around menstruation. Access to these trainings and kits is essential to protecting young women from public shame, missing classes or dropping out of school altogether, an important step in the region, where as many as one in ten girls misses school during their menstrual cycle, according to UNESCO.

More than 6,000 refugee and internally displaced students attending the local schools are now receiving these services, as the project continues to promote girls’ access to education.

Hadiza, 14

"When girls have their period, they feel ashamed to go to school."

“The first time I had my period, I felt scared – I thought I was sick. Yet, my grandmother had already told me about the period already. And my mother explained what to do when I had my period.

"The JRS MHM kit helped me a lot in my daily life. And I learned during the training how to use the sanitary pads and protect myself.

"I love reading and writing at school, I learn a lot of things. In the future I want to become a teacher.”

Kaikai, 14

Kaikai is a member of the Girls' Club at Dibina School. © Irene Galera/JRS Chad

“I got my first period one week ago. Some girls in the village cried when they got their period, but after JRS trainings on MHM, we are more comfortable with it.

"I didn’t know that it was possible to go to school during my period."

"School is important to become a doctor or even a minister.

"Our parents don’t know how to read and write. So, we can read them their [medical] cards. My parents are aware of the importance of school. They [have] even sold a goat sometimes if we need to pay something for my studies. They were also happy when I received JRS MHM kit.

"To improve girls’ MHM at school, it would be necessary to improve the current latrines, since there is no door and other children can see us. We are forced to hide in the bush to change the sanitary pads.

"When I grow older, I want to become a midwife because some women have a lot of problems when giving birth, and I want to be a relief for them. I also want to raise awareness on MHM.”

Rakina, 17

17-year-old Rakina, a member of the Girls' Club at Dar Es Salam Camp, shows off the handmade MHM products from her kit. © Irene Galera/JRS Chad

“The period is not a sickness; it is natural that the girls start having it when reaching puberty. When we have our period, we fear other students mocking us for having it. My mother explained to me about the period before having it, but the first time I got my period, I was scared. I thought I was seriously sick. After, my older sister told me what to do.

"I learned a lot at JRS MHM training about how to take care of myself during my period. And the kit helps me a lot, since I don’t have problems going to school.

"I love school. It helps you to become someone. Myself, I want to be a doctor."

Souhadi, Teacher

Souhadi has been teaching at Malmairi School for 6 years. After attending JRS training on MHM, he feels better prepared to support his female students. © Irene Galera/JRS Chad

After attending the JRS training on MHM, Teacher Souhadi felt better prepared to talk with and support a student who got her period during class:

“There was a girl in the classroom, sitting on the mat. It was the second break, and we were about to go home. When she stood up, her classmates noticed she was stained with blood. Some refused to take the mat where the girl had sat.

"She was ashamed, sitting down, and didn’t want to get back up. I approached the girl to console her. I told her that she shouldn’t be ashamed, that she was not the only one having a period and won’t be the last one either. That it is natural for all women and girls.

"We [the teachers] finally convinced her not to stay at home but to go to school. We washed the mat ourselves. The next day, the girl came to school, as she had promised, and she has been coming very regularly to this day.

"The JRS MHM training was very rich and beneficial for all teachers. We learned to find the correct words to reassure girls on what is happening to them."

"There are things we don’t know, but we now feel better prepared to support girls during their periods.”

Girls' Club members in the Dar Es Salam camp. © Irene Galera/JRS Chad

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