16-year-old Sumaiya lives with her parents and five siblings in a village in Bangladesh’s Rangamati hill district. When United Purpose’s ‘Leadership to ensure adequate nutrition’ (LEAN) project started working in her village, she quickly enrolled with the adolescent club and soon became an active member.
Above: Sumaiya at the handwashing station in her village
Sumaiya did not have in-depth knowledge about nutrition or the importance of handwashing before joining our adolescent club. But this completely changed as a result of the information sessions and awareness-raising activities that our project ran through the club.
With her peers, Sumaiya had the opportunity to visit other adolescent groups so they could learn from one another. She also visited the Department of Women’s Affairs and Community Clinics to learn about the available services, resources and facilities. Since then, she and others in the club have been working hard to spread information about what they learned.
In Sumaiya’s own words:
“Before joining the adolescent club, I was totally unaware of the proper way and the importance of hand washing, eating a balanced and diversified diet, and using clean clothes or sanitary pads during menstruation. With the support of the LEAN project, I got the opportunity to exchange knowledge and information with health experts, and learned about dietary diversity, menstruation hygiene and other adolescent health-related issues.
“I got acquainted with knowledge on health and hygiene and have encouraged my fellow classmates to get more information on menstrual health hygiene and helped them know that sanitary napkins are available at our local women’s centre. When I can’t afford to buy pads, I use clean and dry cloths, which we learned about in the sessions.
“I am leading a healthy and sound life, continuing my studies properly without a break.”
Sumaiya monitors the handwashing station in her village on a daily basis, which was established with the support of UP’s project. She is also trying to raise awareness in her community about the importance of regular handwashing, especially in relation to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
And as if all of this wasn’t enough, Sumaiya and five of her peers formed a child marriage prevention committee earlier in 2021.
Context:
This activity took place as part of our ‘Leadership to Ensure Adequate Nutrition’ project in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, funded by the European Commission and implemented in consortium. Sumaiya’s adolescent group is one of 4,000 - all of which are supporting the dissemination of vital nutrition information.
