Arthur Martin: From Leeds to Ghana to Tackle Period Poverty
I’m a third-year economics student at the University of Leeds, and I want to share an incredible experience I had this past summer in Ghana. My trip was all about addressing a pressing issue: period poverty and its impact on girls’ education in remote communities. This project was all made possible through the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Programme.
In the communities we visited, getting an education is no walk in the park. These girls face daunting challenges, trekking long distances through rough terrain just to reach their schools. On top of this, many are required to juggle part-time jobs and childcare responsibilities too. Unfortunately, menstruation adds an extra layer of difficulty to their lives.
The lack of access to affordable menstrual products forces these girls to use cloths or rags, which often fail them, leading to embarrassment and even health issues. The harsh reality is that many girls simply can’t afford proper sanitary products. A pack of pads can cost around 20 Ghanaian Cedis (GHC), while their daily earnings may only be 10 GHC. In some cases, girls must resort to relationships with older men to be able to buy pads, resulting in high rates of teenage pregnancies which forces many to abandon their education.
Here’s where our project comes in. We managed to raise over £1000 and distribute 27,000 sanitary pads to these girls. We purchased the pads from local Ghanaian wholesalers and enlisted the help of dedicated female Ghanaian volunteers from For The Future Ghana to conduct community sessions on menstrual hygiene management. It was heartening to see that both men and women from the community actively participated in these sessions, asking questions, and engaging in discussions.
By the end of our project, we had reached thousands of people in remote Ghanaian communities, providing essential knowledge about menstruation, and ensuring that a thousand more girls had access to sanitary pads. Now, I won’t pretend that our efforts have completely eradicated period poverty in these communities, but we were able to make significant strides in reducing its impact on these girls’ lives.
Before I wrap up, I must express my sincere gratitude to the Laidlaw Foundation for making all this possible. The Laidlaw Leadership and Research Programme is open to all first-year undergraduate students and offers sponsorship for summer projects like mine, along with leadership development opportunities. Thanks to the programme, I was able to have this eye-opening experience and had the opportunity to work outside of my comfort zone. For me, this was the most rewarding project I have embarked during my time at Leeds. If you would like to get involved, find out how to apply to the programme here.
University of Leeds and Leeds University Union have many initiatives to help students access period products. Follow this link to see all the collection points for sanitary products across campus. If you’re in the Union, see where you can pick up sanitary supplies here.
