December 2025 | Akure, Ondo state
For many girls in underserved communities in Akure, menstruation is managed in silence and with whatever is available: cloth, tissue, or nothing at all. Period poverty is not discussed openly; it is endured quietly.
Girls miss school during their periods, fall behind academically, and internalise a deep sense of shame around a natural biological process. Without access to sanitary pads, their ability to show up fully – in school, in life – is compromised every single month. The problem compounds: missed school leads to missed learning, which leads to reduced opportunities, narrowed futures, and a cycle of disadvantage that begins with something as simple and preventable as a lack of pads.
GEAN conducted its first-ever community pad outreach in Akure, distributing sanitary pads directly to girls in the community ahead of the Christmas season. The distribution was paired with brief sensitisation – creating a moment not just of giving, but of education, normalisation, and affirmation.
Girls received products, but they also received information and a message: your health matters, your body is not something to be ashamed of, and you deserve support. For many of the beneficiaries, this was their first time receiving menstrual products through a structured outreach – and their first encounter with an organisation that centred their needs explicitly.
“This was our first. And I think that’s why it stayed with me the way it did. Every organisation has a moment where the work becomes real — where it stops being a plan and becomes a person in front of you. Akure was that moment for GEAN.
“I remember thinking: this is what we exist for. Not the documents, not the strategy — this. A girl holding a pack of pads, knowing that someone thought about her this month.
“That is the work.”
~ Ene Oteikwu
Girls in Akure received their first GEAN-facilitated access to menstrual hygiene products – and with it, a message that their health, dignity, and future are worth fighting for.
Would you like to be a part of subsequent iterations of this project? Click here to get involved
