The Sustainable Impact Development (SID) Initiative has recently held a one-day sensitization program and a quiz competition for senior secondary school girls in Education District IV, Lagos on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
The session which was organized to commemorate the 2024 International Day of the Girl Child was themed ‘’Girl Vision for the future’.
The sensitization program aimed to increase awareness and understanding of SRHR among senior secondary school girls, to encourage the girls to take charge of their reproductive health, and to enhance girls’ knowledge, critical thinking, and public speaking skills.
The quiz was based on the FAQ booklet developed by young people with support from FP2030 and UNFPA Nigeria, which has about 15 chapters that cover all the topics under SRH.
Gloria Williams, Program officer, SID Initiative mentioned that the quiz competition will be an annual programme, saying “every international Day of the Girl Child, we will be having a quiz competition spread across different schools till the whole schools in Lagos State are covered,” she said.
On the other hand, Mrs Bose Deji-Oderinde, SID Initiative Board chair, who is also an official from the Education Ministry in Lagos State urged parents to make themselves available for their children to be able to talk to them, stating that, “less knowledge about SRH has made a lot of girls to be vulnerable to abuse and there have been a lot of sexual violation that has happened to girls because some of them don’t even know the right person to meet when they are victimized.”
“We look forward to more organisations coming on board to sensitize parents because not many parents have information about SRH and also teachers to receiving more family life health education training so that they can meet the need and answer the questions most students ask,” she requested.
While appreciating SID Initiative for the program, Umeh Mmesomachukwu, one of the quiz contestants, an SS 2 student of Nawair-ud-deen Senior High School promised to share the knowledge learnt to her peers, saying, “I will try to spread SRH knowledge among my mate in order to bring the educational awareness about SRHR to life because some girls don’t know about it.”
Aside from the knowledge gained, the winners were rewarded handsomely. The first position, Nawar-Ud-Deen Snr. Sec. School, Ebute-metta went home with 100,000 Naira, while the second position, Aje Comprehensive Sen. High School, Sabo went home with 50,000 naira and the third position, Lagos City Model College, Sabo won 30,000 Naira.
The first edition of the quiz competition brought together six schools from Education District IV which includes Aje Comprehensive Senior High School, Sabo; Herbert Macaulay Senior Girls Secondary School, Sabo; Birrel Avenue Senior High School, Sabo; Lagos City Model College, Sabo; Wesley Girls Snr Sec School, Yaba and Nawar-Ud-Deen Snr. Sec. School, Ebute Metta.
There were also prices for the best three students who went home with compensation price.