OMOTAYO ATINUKE JUNAID...MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF RURAL WOMEN AND ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN NIGERIA . Femi Ojo






Omotayo Atinuke Junaid
It was sometime in the last quarter of year 2015 that my wife called my attention to an amazing project being championed by Omotayo Atinuke Junaid, a young Nigerian lady in her early twenties. “Safe and Smart Period” is the name of the project and Atinuke is the initiator. ‘Femi, if your blog is about writing on exceptional people doing amazing stuffs in our country, this young lady, Omotayo is doing great stuffs for underprivileged rural girls and even older women by providing them sanitary pads free of charge and educating them on proper menstrual hygiene practice, please hubby, I think you should interview her and give her a voice on your blog” my wife pleaded.

This is how to do it...Smart and Safe Period for our Underprivileged Girls



I took my time, did a little research and indeed I found out that Omotayo Atinuke Junaid is truly making a difference in the area of menstrual hygiene and reproductive health of women and adolescent girls in the rural areas in Nigeria.

Please read my interview with this 22 years old Microbiology graduate, budding fashion entrepreneur and humanitarian below.

Can you tell me about yourself please?
Junaid Omotayo Atinuke is a young woman passionate about giving back to the Society and committed extensively to community development. A graduate of Microbiology from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Atinuke is the lead Volunteer of Safe and Smart Period, also an upcoming fashion entrepreneur with self-training in fabric accessories design. She strongly believes that teamwork, volunteering and taking proactive steps to ensure societal development contributes immensely to the change and desired future for which we all hoped for.
Educating rural girls on how to use sanitary pad

The Safe and Smart Period is a project very dear to you, can you tell us about this project please?
Safe and Smart period project is for now a project, that focuses on proper menstrual hygiene and reproductive health of women and adolescents girls. We'd be continuously distributing sanitary pads and materials that they need to manage menarche to these women and girls in the rural Nigeria so as to reduce the risk of reproductive tract infections (RTI) associated with menstrual hygiene method, embarrassment, and absenteeism in school. We’d also be educating them on proper menstrual hygiene practice. 
Rural children identifying with Safe and Smart Period Team Member
Safe and Smart Period Team with the rural girls recently

What inspired you to start this project?
I have always felt a deep need and a strong desire to reach out and help the underprivileged, partly because of my love for humanity and partly because I have experienced- first-hand what it feels like to be underprivileged. One day,
Every Rural Girl Must be Safe and Smart.
 while surfing the Internet I came across an enlightening article by Sandra Eguagie, (Programme Officer, African Network for Environmental and Economical justice) on menstrual hygiene implications for Nigeria. This article revealed to me that women and girls in rural communities still use cloth rags as menstrual pads and employs crude and unhygienic methods of washing and drying them due to the costs of commercial sanitary pads. I made more research and the claims were so true. I also discovered that this area of public health management gets almost unnoticed in the society and how this luxury of sanitary pads even affects the attendance of girls in school. I shared this findings with some friends, their interests were triggered and we formed a team, which birth Safe and Smart Period.
The Volunteers, you too can join them, let's make a difference

When did you officially launch this project in Nigeria?
We started planning from September 2015, but our first outreach was in December 2015

How many girls have benefited so far since the beginning of this project?
About 21 girls and we are walking daily to reach out more.
On the move...reaching out to the rural communities with sanitary pads


How have you been funding this project?
  You know what? Nigerians are wonderful people and I will tell you that some goodwill individuals home and abroad have been helping us tremendously in reaching out to underprivileged girls and women in the rural areas in Nigeria by supporting this cause. Though I must say here, we have a lot to do and we need more of such people. 
A volunteer educating the rural girls on Safe and Smart Period


Considering the sensivity of the nature of your project, how do you identify those that are underprivileged and need sanitary pads?
We visit any community we intend to reach out to, before the outreach. This way we get to speak with the 
Now we are Safe and Smart.....Period!
girls, parents and traditional rulers. That's how we identify the need. 
 
City Ladies reaching out to the rural girls passionately...Team Safe and Smart Period

What's your final words to the public on the Safe and Smart Period Project?

We are deeply grateful to all our donors and supporters so far, but we really do need all the help we can get, in terms of partnership, donations, sponsorship and volunteering.  I am also appealing to Nigerian women particularly, who God has blessed to support this project and let us all reach out to these underprivileged girls and women in our rural areas. We can do it together!
Let's support this noble project

For more information on Safe and Smart Period and support please contact Atinuke Omotayo Junaid via the addresses below. Thank you.

Email - donatessperiod@gmail.com
IG - @safeandsmartperiod
Facebook - SAFE and SMART period
Mobile - 08188902591




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