Girls Arise Initiative

The July 2016 edition of our Girls Summit was a very interactive and practical session. Yes! Our subject of discussion was “Menstrual Hygiene”. Of course we had an expert in the house who offered to take the girls through the journey of self-awareness and education. Nurse Damola told us about every woman’s monthly circle, which runs from between 20 to 30 days or more. She told us about the monthly flow, which runs from 3 to 8 days, depending on each person’s physiological make up.  She also spoke about the warning signs of danger and when it becomes necessary to seek medical help. More importantly, she spoke about the importance of personal hygiene- which includes constant hand washing, sanitary towel change, use of medication and how not to abuse the use of medication. Asking questions, the girls sought to find answers to some of the myths and traditional beliefs around menstruation, especially those religious beliefs that discriminates against women and girls during th

Have you ever wondered why some teenage schoolgirls get trapped with pregnancy, even when they know too well that they are not prepared for motherhood and its multiple challenges? Tope Adetola took the lid off the pot at the June 2016 edition of our girls mentoring meeting as she led us into the thought process and inquisitiveness of an average teenage girl. The event was the monthly summit of the Girls’ Arise Initiative, held at Ijegun in the Ikotun area of Alimoso local government of Lagos state. Sharing her true life story, Tope, a very committed volunteer with Bestspring Children & Youth Development Foundation explained that it is natural for every child, especially as he/she approaches puberty, to be extremely inquisitive and want to know what it is that makes adults thick.

Girls Arise Initiative is a project of Bestspring Foundation which started in May 2016.  It is a mentoring program geared towards safeguarding the girl-child against all forms of abuse and giving them a voice and platform to rise above the limitation imposed on them by their community. It is to encourage and inspire them to aspire and achieve the seemingly impossible. Also, it is to raise awareness/check on issues of rape, teenage pregnancy and emergency motherhood.  More importantly, it is geared towards providing a strong and safe platform for computer literacy and digital empowerment. As at today, all the girls in the club are illiterates in computer knowledge. The community where we operate is Ijegun, Ikotun in Alimoso Local Government Area of Lagos State. Although densely populated, Ijegun and its neighbouring communities, namely Ijeododo, Abaranje, Oke-orube, Ijagemo and Kudebu, are largely enmeshed in poverty and illiteracy, with high rate of teenage pregnancy, school