Breaking the Silence Campaign to reach out to hill district
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 29 2017:
Breaking the Silence Campaign will be reaching out to the hill districts of Ukhrul, Churchandpur and Senapati in October during which seminars on education institutions including schools and colleges, menstrual hygiene management lab in the villages for the girls and women in the community, sensitization programs in the church, training for NGO field workers and staff and interaction with women groups, Self Help Groups, youth clubs, locality clubs, communities, village leadership, ASHA workers, ANMs, and Anganwadi will be conducted .
Every year the campaign reaches out to different regions in India through its trainings .
'Breaking the Silence' is an initiative to educate adolescent girls and women in remote parts of the country especially in the rural parts on menstrual hygiene management.
The need to end the myths and taboos around periods is the first step to make the family, community and society at large a dignified space for the girls and women to live in .
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The initiative started its work in Manipur in 2015-16 with trainings held in different districts including Imphal, Moirang and Kakching and on-site interactions and house- to -house visits in these regions to understand the current knowledge, attitudes and practices of women and adolescent girls in the region with respect to menstrual hygiene and raise awareness on the subject which is taboo till today in our society .
Urmila Chanam, an award winning social worker and menstrual hygiene activist will be delivering all these trainings personally .
In education institutions, the seminar will be for a duration of 3 hours including discussions and sharing of personal experiences and will involve students (only girls), teachers and non-teaching staff with an aim to build model schools and colleges which can cater to the needs of menstruating girls in the campus and is responsive to safe and environment friendly disposal of sanitary wastes.
The number of participants can be 100-1000 maximum in the age group of 10-25 years for students and for teachers and non-teaching staff, age is not a bar .
With community/village, locality clubs, church or NGOs working in the grass root, menstrual hygiene laboratory will be conducted in villages for 4-5 hours where girls and women will receive training on menstrual hygiene management and best practices.
The number of girls and women can be 50-300 maximum in one location and between 9-45 years age .
NGOs can send in their requests for training their field staff on menstrual hygiene management.
It is an 8- hour training where training materials will be provided.
The NGOs can organize the programme in their own office.