Heig Chinengemambo is a knowledge broker and Author of various books which include I am Capable (A Confident Series Book), Happy Marriages, Happy Marriages 2, Water Runs Dry, Arise & Shine, Climate Change, and the novel Into Brad. He covers topics including Climate Change, Love & Marriage, Stress Management, Suicide and Christianity. He is using  uses his writings to fundraise for women and girl child support in the area of free Sanitary pads and Undergarments provision, and provision of near water sources. He is currently working on a Multi-Book Launch of ten (10) books aimed also at raising funds for the health, hygiene and welfare of disadvantaged women & girls. For each book copy purchased from Heig, at least 10% goes towards the Initiative.

He is on record for saying, “if you refuse to learn through words, life will teach you through experience. But the challenge with experience is that, it’s not always the kindest of teachers”. This statement comes from a man who at one point knew it all and alienated himself from wisdom. This resulted in Heig hurting people around him and also becoming a victim of some. Relationships, work and career all came to a standstill. Heig uses his  life experiences, the lessons of others, and knowledge acquired through study, training and research to help men and women at every level of life overcome the challenges that life presents. Everything has a solution, simply talk to someone.

Addressing the Menstrual Cycle Gap

Poor Menstrual Hygiene Management prevents girls from participating and attending school, as they feel shame and fear humiliation from their peers. In some places, thirty percent of girls report missing school during their periods in addition to twenty percent dropouts recorded of girls dropping out of school completely after reaching puberty. The lack of access to private toilets and clean water also hinders school participation.

According to the words of Plan International USA’s Director of Water, Sanitation, and Health Darren Saywell, “Girls lack access to clean, safe private toilets. There is no clean water within or near the toilets, which means there is nowhere to clean up and discreetly dispose of used menstrual products. When girls drop out of school at an early age, they are less likely to return to education, leaving them vulnerable to early marriage, violence and forced sexual relations”.

The exclusion of women and girls from education is costly. The UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says, “girls who remain in secondary school are six times less likely to marry young. In Sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, child marriage would decrease if all girls had secondary education. UNICEF also noted the larger health benefits that come with educating women and girls, including decreases in maternal, infant, and child mortality rates as well as poverty.

WaterAid, an international clean water and sanitation organization, found that women and girls are often excluded from decision-making in such programs, resulting in little control over matters such as money to spend on Menstrual Hygiene Management materials.

Most people, and men, in particular, find menstrual hygiene a difficult subject to talk about. As a result of these issues, interventions often fail to address the needs of women and girls. This is one of the reasons I, Heig Chinengemambo has stood up to talk about the subject to inspire all men to run along with me even as I pursue to address the challenges within our communities.

If the situation does not change, it stands as a hindrance for development programs to achieve their goals. I conclude by thanking the efforts being done by several players to address the Menstrual Hygiene Gaps.

I-Care, Heig Chinengemambo.