Breaking the Silence undertakes field visits in Noney
Source: The Sangai Express
Noney, May 11 2018:
'Breaking the Silence' undertook a mass field visit in Noney district today and met district Government officials, stakeholders including the community to discuss regarding menstrual hygiene and steps to establish facilities for girls and women.
During a meeting with the SDO L Robert at DCs office building, development of effective IEC for behaviour change and water supply at house hold level were discussed.
The households in Noney does not have tap water facilities and there are no significant water reservoirs.
Women fetch water in buckets and store in tanks spending sizeable amount of time in a day to secure enough water for the family.
With no water supply, proper menstrual hygiene has been difficult to achieve in the district.
The team visited Namduanhjang ( Charoi-2) Govt Primary School and found that the school has been conducting classes from the village community hall and does not even have a building of its own.
The children from class Nursery to V (numbering close to 55) have to cross the rain water puddles in the huge playground to go to the toilet built at the other corner which has again no running water supply.
The only arrangement is a tank which the school management keeps for water requirement of the school.
A visit to Primary Health Centre held a key meeting with MO who shared the health profile of girls and women who received medical treatment in the facility and observed that OPD cases were mostly women and major complains centred around cases that come from high physical activity like complaints of back pain, joint pain, knee pain.
White discharge is a common medical complaint according to hospital records.
The team also visited Rangkhung Pt village and held a meeting with the village authority, village chief, elderly women and the customary court 'Paikai' to discuss the role of community leaders in menstrual hygiene and the elders expressed their agreement to support in the campaign.
A program at village level will soon be conducted where the elders will take lead facilitated by Breaking the Silence team in the next few days.