The Forum for Women’s Advancement and Development (FOWAD) constantly strives to make significant strides in addressing the challenges faced by adolescent girls in the South West and North West region. In partnership with the Grace Chin Foundation, FOWAD distributed sanitary pads to 91 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) aged  13-19 in the Sandpit neighborhood of Buea.

Menstruation, often a taboo subject, remains a significant barrier to girls’ education and overall well-being in Cameroon. Many girls lack access to essential menstrual hygiene products, leading to missed school days and potential health risks. UNESCO estimates that one in 10 girls in Africa misses one to 4 days of school per month,making this one of the highest contributors to girls dropping out of education all together.

Through this initiative, FOWAD aimed to break down stigma, provide essential supplies, and empower young women. In addition to the sanitary pad distribution, a comprehensive sensitization session on menstrual hygiene was conducted, addressing questions and concerns about menstrual health.

The event highlighted the urgent need for continued support and education to ensure that all girls have access to the resources and information they need to manage their menstrual health with dignity.

[Insert relevant images here: distribution of sanitary pads, girls participating in the sensitization session, etc.]

Key points addressed:

❖  Challenges faced by adolescent girls in accessing menstrual hygiene products

❖  Importance of menstrual hygiene education

❖ Impact of the crisis on girls' access to essential supplies

❖ FOWAD's role in addressing these challenges

❖ Partnership with Grace Chin Foundation

GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Helping Hands Children Center (HHCC) Sand pit is a project of Forum for Women Advancement and Development (FOWAD).  FOWAD was registered on July 25th 2006, as an Association with registered No 737/G.37/D.14/1/Vol10/T/BAPP with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization. It is a non-profit; non-governmental community-based organization operating in the South West Region of Cameroon with Head office at Molyko, Buea. It aims at enhancing the economic and socio-political status of women through the promotion of gender equality and education for women and the girl child and women economic empowerment.  

In an attempt to meet its objective of women socio-economic empowerment HHCC was founded in 2019 against a background of school boycott and pressure on women as a result of the war which broke up in the North West and South West Regions in 2016 resulting to displacement and loss of livelihood and consequent pressure on women.  At its very foundation the Center was known as the Sandpit Children Community Support Structure aimed at creating a Child Friendly Space for internally displaced children and other vulnerable children in the community. This was seen as a means to reduce workload on mothers while giving the children the opportunity to come together for learning purposes. Education as well known is the key to success; also that every child must be educated as a matter of RIGHT as such there was need for a community school to help those parents who cannot afford fees in a regular school. Other obstacles to these children’s education include transport fare for children to other cheaper schools out of the community. More so, exposure to vehicle accidents and other ills in the public places is reduced when children are given the opportunity to go to school in their immediate locality.

In October 2020, Helping Hands Community Center for Kids(HCK) came into being for the second year 2020/2021 on the request of parents and some community members for the following reasons.

• To help teach children whose parents cannot pay fees in a more established and regular school especially due to the on-going Anglophone crisis.
• The school environment is like a home for the children since it is very close to the homesteads and in case of any problem children can be shielded in the neighborhood and their parents reached on little or no cost at short notice.
• It also serves as a development strategy in the community since education contributes to community development.

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN THE CENTER

Between November 2019 and April 2020 the Center enrolled 97 children (41 boys and 56 girls) age ranging between 3 to 17 years.  With these the Center engaged in the teaching of the following subjects:

• Alphabetization and numeracy
• Hand writing
• Drawing
• Hygiene and sanitation
• sports
• Rhymes
• songs  
• Crafts like paper design.

PARTNERS

Activities at the center has been moving on thanks to the support of the following partners

Plan International

• The facilitator of the HCK was trained by Plan International along with other facilitators of such Centers in the Region. The training equipped the facilitators with skills that will enable them work with and manage Internal Displaced and vulnerable children.
• Provided financial motivation to Facilitators and
• Provided financial support to the organization of such community structures.
• Followed up the activities of Centers and facilitated report writing through the field staff of Plan International.

World Food Programme (WFP)

• Trained Facilitators/Organizers on the WFP School Feeding Program (SFP) food distribution technics, Hygiene and Sanitation and Food preservation at Center
• Provided the Center with High Energy Biscuits (HEB), to feed the children during school hours at school or at home.

Grace Chin Foundation

• Center was visited by the Founder and CEO of GRACE Chin Foundation. During her visit she sensitized the female children of the Center and other teenagers in the community on Menstruation and Menstrual Hygiene. She then distributed sanitary pads to all girls above 9 years who were present.

Nkong Hill Top Association for Development (NADEV)

• On the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Cameroon in March 2020, NADEV donated nose masks to the kids and their parents during the WFP food distribution exercise.

CURRENT STATE OF THE CENTER

By the end of the school year last year the Center was not operational following the Ministerial decision asking the population to avoid crowd and shutting down of schools to prevent the spread of the Corona virus. This had serious negative effects on the activities of the Center. That notwithstanding there has been relative calm in Buea compared to other towns in the Region that has enabled the reopening of schools for the 2020/2021 academic year following the government’s upliftment of lockdown on schools and other social gatherings. With the return to normalcy in the area, Management of the Center decided to keep activities on hold. However, on request of the community, enrolment was opened up in October 2020.

Enrolment at the center stands at 23 with 14 females and 9 males ranging between the ages of 4 to 13 years. These children are all put into one class room where they could be managed by one Facilitator as opposed to two of last year. The dynamism of the facilitator can be rated from her ability to sub group and manage the children according to their ability to speak and write. Classes begin every day at 8:00am and closes at 1:00pm

FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

• Get the center recognized by the Ministry of Social Affairs as a Day Care for destitute children
• Increase enrolment by intensifying community mobilization and sensitization
• Put in place different classrooms for different levels as a result of increase in enrolment
• Recruit more facilitators and an attendant to manage and teach the children
• Improve on the room structure and appearance to provide a more conducive and comfortable play and learning environment for the children.
• Acquire appropriate games for the children to improve on their learning and leisure.
• Put in place appropriate attire for the children incase a child strays they could be redirected to the Center by anyone in the position.
• Build a fence around the center or put in place other security measure to ensure security for the children during school our.

CHALLENGES AND MITIGATION

• Insufficient Facilitators to management the different age groups and class
• Insufficient funds to run the center especially on feeding of the children and facilitator’s incentive.

CONCLUSION

Despite these challenges the community is showing a lot of interest in the center and parents are willing to give it the necessary push for it to be sustainable for the sake of their children.  Like it is said “where there is a Will there is a Way” So it shall succeed. It would be interesting to note that the name given to the center HELPING HANDS is the suggestion of parents suggested by parents during one of the maiden meetings held between parents and management.