Report of NSS unit of BESC visit to Keoratala Basanbala Girls High school

Female Adolescent Hygiene has remained a taboo for long – stigmatized even amongst school going girls because of absence of awareness amongst them.
On 28th May, 2016 the NSS unit of the The Bhawanipur Education Society College along with NGO Nirman Foundation decided to spread awareness at The Keoratala Basanbala Girls High School located at 24 South Parganas, Kulpi District, West Bengal with this concern in view.

Almost 160 schoolgirls aged 14–18 in this school and about 100 parents along with a few teachers remained present at the camp.There was detailed discussion on menstrual hygiene and various practical questions were answered by the speakers. Girls were selected by cluster sampling technique in secondary schools in rural areas. Data were collected through an anonymous, self-administered, open-ended questionnaire by conducting quiz. Aspects of personal hygiene were generally found to be poor, such as not changing pads regularly or at night, and not bathing during menstruation. Large majority of girls said they needed more information. The volunteers interacted with the children to enable them to open up and discuss freely the issues. Certain necessities were freely distributed by the way of health and hygiene kit to all the girls.

The Chief Guest of the Programme Smt. Rehana Khtun and Dr Parveen Banu, along with NSS Programme Officer Prof. Divyesh Shah, Prof. Kaushik Banerjee, School Administration representative Shri Ratan Mistri, Village Headman and other dignitaries presented their view on this day which is observed as Menstrual Hygiene Day all over the world.

At the end of the event, NSS volunteer played musical chair with the students of the school and bid adieu with a promise to have another program with them in the coming days.