Bank of Africa, Ghana (BOA) staff has shown commitment to the clarion call made by activists to corporate bodies to support the cause of making sanitary pads accessible to the poor and marginalised due to the increasing cost of the product as a result of taxes imposed by the government
The BOA staff took a giant step to contribute to this important social intervention by donating primary menstrual hygiene products and other items to market women in collaboration with the Agbobloshie Kayaye Youth Association.
The items donated to the kayaye include sanitary pads, used and brand-new clothes, blankets, sweaters, shoes, and shirts. The kids of these women also had their fair share of the items, receiving toys, books, and games.
Communications Officer, Bank of Africa, Portia Anani, during the presentation of the sanitary items, stated that support for the youth is one of the key corporate social responsibilities (CSR) pillars of the institution, hence the staff of the bank selects a project to execute each year and the need to focus on this very important social challenge at the time cannot be overemphasised.
She stressed that the staff union responded swiftly when prices of sanitary pads shot up causing hygiene issues for women who could not afford them.
“This year’s project was directed at supporting the Agbogbloshie Kayaye Youth Association which has a composition of 90 percent women. We heard the conversation about sanitary pads and how expensive it has become due to imposed levies making it difficult for these marginalised women to afford them leading to the use of unhygienic alternatives. So, we decided to contribute some money and buy some sanitary towels for them,” she said.
The BOA Staff were optimistic that this year’s project which was borne out of generosity will serve as a major mood booster for the Kayaye, especially the youthful ones to strive for economic independence.
Miss Anani, further said: “We decided that a lot of us had clothes for ourselves that we do not use, for our children, our wives, and husbands so we decided that why not bring all of them together and neatly send them to people who will genuinely need it instead of us keeping it in our homes.”
She added that the staff previously refurbished the children’s ward of the Upper East Regional Hospital for better pediatric health delivery.
President of the Kayaye Association, Mohammed Isalifu who received the donation on behalf of the group, thanked the staff of Bank of Africa for their kind support and pleaded with them for a lot more soon to help the women and their children.
Abibatu Abdulai, one of the beneficiaries full of joy said: “This will help us a lot because many of us cannot afford sanitary pads because of the high price but because of this donation, we can easily use them instead of using rags. Also, some of the children here do not have good clothes because their mothers cannot afford so we are very happy with this donation. May God bless them with more.”
