On Valentine’s Day, El-Neema Cares Initiative Takes Menstrual Support to Girls in Dutse Alhaji Market

While Valentine’s Day is often associated with flowers, gifts and expressions of love, El-Neema Cares Initiative chose to mark the day by taking a different kind of love to six girls at Dutse Alhaji Market in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

The organisation conducted a menstrual hygiene outreach at the market on February 14, reaching girls who are out of school and may otherwise be excluded from school-based menstrual health education and support. The outreach was built around a simple idea: girls should not have to be in school to have access to menstrual health information, menstrual products and dignity.

For many girls and women, menstruation is a routine part of life, but managing it safely is not always routine. The cost of sanitary products, limited access to information and difficult economic circumstances can force girls to improvise during their periods, sometimes using materials that are inadequate for safe menstrual hygiene.

At Dutse Alhaji Market, those realities became personal. During conversations with the girls, two beneficiaries disclosed that they use tissue paper during their menstrual flow because they cannot consistently afford sanitary pads. Two others explained that they try to make one pack of sanitary pads last for two menstrual cycles because of financial constraints. Their experiences offered a direct glimpse into the reality of menstrual poverty among girls who are often outside the reach of formal school-based interventions.

In response, each of the six girls received a menstrual care package containing sanitary pads sufficient for approximately three months, two bars of soap, two pairs of underwear, a large pack of baby wipes, perfume and confectioneries, all carefully curated as a personal care package.

But the outreach was not only about distributing products. The girls also participated in a brief session focused on menstrual hygiene, self-worth, self-discovery and career awareness, creating an opportunity for them to ask questions, share their experiences and learn practical ways to manage their periods safely and hygienically.

The team also encouraged the girls to make provisions for sanitary products every month, even when resources are limited, including saving small amounts consistently where possible. They were reminded that menstrual hygiene is not simply about cleanliness; it is connected to a girl’s health, comfort, confidence and dignity.

For El-Neema Cares Initiative, taking the outreach to a market was intentional. Many girls and young women who work, trade or spend their days in markets are unlikely to benefit from interventions delivered exclusively through schools. Reaching them where they are therefore becomes an important part of ensuring that menstrual health support is not limited to those already within formal systems.

The outreach also went beyond menstrual hygiene. Through conversations around self-worth, self-discovery and career possibilities, the girls were encouraged to look beyond their present circumstances and recognise that their current realities do not determine the possibilities available to them.

The girls received their care packages with joy, with beneficiaries expressing that the support would relieve some of the stress associated with managing their periods in the coming months.

The market outreach reflects El-Neema Cares Initiative’s broader commitment to meeting girls at the point of their needs and ensuring that vulnerable girls are not forgotten simply because they are outside the classroom.

The organisation’s work is guided by a simple but powerful mantra: “We pad not because we have enough, but because we know what it means not to be padded.”

Through its menstrual hygiene interventions, El-Neema Cares Initiative seeks to keep girls Clean, Safe and Dry, while helping them experience menstruation with greater dignity, confidence and knowledge.

About El-Neema Cares Initiative

El-Neema Cares Initiative is a nonprofit organisation committed to advancing the dignity, wellbeing and opportunities of women and girls, particularly those living in underserved communities. Through grassroots humanitarian interventions, menstrual health education, advocacy and community outreach, the organisation works to address period poverty and other social challenges affecting vulnerable women and girls.