Blessing Nduku
GWERU: St Severino pupils got a Christmas treat as Women in Community (WICO) in partnership with FOR-HER, a youth wing for WICO which advances young girls’ rights; organized a Christmas party for underprivileged students at the school located in Gweru’s Ward 1.
The organisations that have been involved in humanitarian work that includes reaching out to all women age groups with skills trainings, awareness, and capacity building so as to reduce teen pregnancies, early marriages as well as the spread of HIV donated sanitary pads among other goodies to facilitate for a Christmas party.
They also had a engaged in sexual relations and reproductive health (SRHR) talk as an effort to empower the underprivileged young women who struggle to get pads due to prevailing economic challenges.
WICO Executive Director, Rebecca Chirenga said that it is crucial that the young girls receive SRHR teaching at a tender age as it will shape their future.
“SRHR talks are a necessity to these young people, they say catch them young and make them grow, the more they learn these things at a tender age the more they become responsible in the future,” Chirenga said.
Chirenga said that most of these girls come from poor families hence their parents do not afford to buy them sanitary pads which leads to most of them missing school when it is time for their cycle.
“Majority of the parents survive on piece jobs and vending and most of them do not get enough money to buy sanitary wear for their kids, after a small chat with these girls I got to learn that most of them miss school when they are on their periods because their parents do not afford to buy pads for them,” she added.
“We wish for an elite, empowered and skilled young women who will be part of vision 2030 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” further said Chirenga.
St Severino senior teacher and health coordinator, Judith Sibanda expressed her gratitude towards the organizers of the event.
“I feel honored and grateful to the organizers of this Christmas party, I would like to than WICO and FORHER for remembering these children most of them comes from a child headed families and they know nothing about sanitary wear, 38 female students currently benefit from these donations and I feel grateful for this gesture,” she said.
