By Robert A. Emmanuel
Young girls attending the Villa Primary School were the beneficiaries of a collaborative partnership between members of the National Youth Parliament Association of Antigua and Barbuda (NYPAAB) and private company AKHIMO Group.
On Wednesday, the co-chairs of the NYPAAB Menstrual Project, Jahmaal Frederick and Esquire Henry, and AKHIMO’s Assistant Manager Michelle Browne launched the Sani-Bin Pilot Programme.
Yesterday, Henry told Observer that he “saw the sani-bins and was impressed” with how they were presented. Frederick was responsible for reaching out to the company on the project.
Browne noted that the company was “all about giving back and wanted to assist the youth parliament with their project”.
AKHIMO owner Oswald Carbon said, “It was also an opportunity for us to get involved from a standpoint of professionalism … we pride ourselves on being one of the sanitary napkins waste management companies in Antigua and this is a process that we have adopted out of Europe and…when you have a certain amount of females in an institution, you have to provide them bins”.
Carbon further explained the issues associated with period poverty and the importance of this project.
“Sanitary napkins … become a biohazard once used, and when you are using it at home that is one thing, but when you have multiple napkins coming out of an institution on a daily basis, there is some strict best practices as to how it should be managed,” he said.
“We thought that if these guys are going this far for a project that is important and … I was really happy that these young men are ahead of their time where [period poverty] is concerned,” he added.
Another issue, Henry added, is the improper disposal of sanitary products.
“You are talking about flushing them down the toilets and that would clog the waste system and water management system,” he explained.
The next step is the continuous education of the public about period poverty, according to Henry, and “how men can support women going through their periods”.
Frederick further expounded on that point, stating “our men can help our women by not only giving them support financially but also mentally when they are going through these tough times and also be role models in schools when it comes to feminine hygiene”.
The project followed the Female Sanitary Product Act which was proposed by the co-chairs and passed by the youth parliament in its debate last year.
Its aim was to increase access to feminine sanitary products for young females in schools and recreational facilities and call for a reduction in the taxation of these products, according to Frederick.
Meanwhile, both parties agreed to collaborate further in the future and called on other corporate businesses to get involved in this initiative.
Businesses and individuals interested in doing so are encouraged to reach out to the co-chairs of the project at 723-0847 or 776-1348.
