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Menstrual Hygiene Day: Adolescent Girls need Menstrual Health Information in Schools

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PC: Google As the world marks Menstrual Hygiene Day on the theme “Together for a Period Friendly World”, I asked, why can’t we have a Pad Shop and Menstrual Health Information and Services in schools to protect the dignity of our girls. The unexpected visitor (Period), as my girls and I love to call it, can appear anytime, whether you are prepared or not. This is our nature and it should not stop us from going to school.  We have stationeries in school and students don’t have to go outside to buy all they need for their studies. Imagine a pad shop within our school environment where students can have access to Pads while menstruating and also have access to Menstrual health information and services they need to manage menstruation with dignity. According to the WHO/UNICEF Report, Globally, a significant number of school-going children lack access to menstrual health information and adequate facilities. Only about 2 out of 5 schools (39%) worldwide provide menstrual health education, an...
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612 Million Women and Girls Live in Conflict Zones: A Call to Action

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UN Under-Secretary-General, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. Photo: Google The UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous, has said that “over 612 Million Women and Girls are living in conflict zones.” She was speaking at the UN Security Council high-level open debate on the “protection of civilians in armed conflict held at the UN Headquarters on 22nd May 2025.  Addressing the Security Council, Sima said, “Today, over 612 million women and girls are living in conflict zones. That is not just a number; it should be a call to action for all of us. In war, women and girls are not just caught in the crossfire. They, their bodies, their health, their choices, and their voices are actively targeted. Conflict-related sexual violence is a protection crisis that rightfully warrants attention. I know the Council will consider this issue with the sustained focus it demands.”  “In Gaza, 75% of women suffer from depression. Girls say they wish they were dead. I...
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Semester Wife: A Tale of Pain, Resilience and Endurance

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PC: Getty Image  Part One:  "Over my dead body would I allow you to bring another woman into my home to share in the blessing that I laboured for and plant a seed of discord between me and you", said Mamanding to her husband over the phone. When the phone conversation ended, I heard a deep, heavy sigh from Mamanding, accompanied by silent sobs. I stayed still on the mat I was praying on and dared not to make a sound. I listened to the sad, painful sobs coming from the other room, silent but filled with pain. I kept wondering, is it the pain of wasted years she endured with this man? Or is it the pains of sexual starvation she endured waiting, hoping and praying for her husband to get the necessary papers from Europe to come back home and fulfil his manly duties, or is it the pain from more than a decade of running from one marabout to another, spending her meagre resources and giving out charity so that her husband can make it in Europe and return home to wipe her tears. Mayb...
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WHO Afghan Facilities Risk Shut Down in June: Children to miss lifesaving vaccines, Mothers unable to give birth safely

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PC: WHO EMRO Media In a press release dated 18th March 2025 from Kabul, The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan is deeply concerned that funding shortages could force the closure of 80% of WHO-supported essential healthcare services, making it difficult for children to access lifesaving vaccinations and mothers unable to give birth safely. "These closures are not just numbers on a report, they represent mothers unable to give birth safely, children missing lifesaving vaccinations, entire communities left without protection from deadly disease outbreaks," said WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Afghanistan Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador. "The consequences will be measured in lives lost."  The presser states that Millions, including vulnerable populations such as women, children, the elderly, the displaced and returnees, will be left without access to critical medical care.  As of 4 March 2025, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages...
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Dear Men, I am called the Clitoris, It’s in your best interest to protect me

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PC: Getty Images  the weapons used to disable our reproductive organ PC: Getty images  Dear Gambian men, my name is Clitoris. I am hosted by a generous and powerful being called a woman and I am located on the top of the vulva. Dear men, you called me many names such as the clit, happy button, knob, love button, sugar plum, devil’s doorbell etc. I am the spice that spices up the bedroom. Men across the globe love, respect and value me. I am their best friend because I make sexual intercourse easy for the feminine gender. However, Gambian Men do not know me because of the war against me which is as old as the country itself. Decades ago, when my host was born as a baby girl, I was eliminated immediately after birth in a tradition called Female Genital Mutilation. She grows up into a woman without me. When she becomes your wife, you wonder why she is not responding to your touches and vibe. You work harder on her body, touching and romancing all the places, yet you do not get the arous...
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Promise House Distribute Christmas Clothes to Children

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Gifts from Promise House Promise Team with Beneficiaries Promise Team Promise House Trust Team conducts a Christmas Outfit distribution drive to the SOS Children’s Village in Bakoteh and Sinchu Orphanage in the WCR. Speaking during the handing over ceremony on the 24th of December 2024, at the SOS Country Office, our Founder Pa Amang Sanneh took the audience into the background of the charitable trust and what it stands to achieve in the times ahead. The items donated to the beneficiaries include girls outfits, beverages and candies to be supplied to the wards over the festive season. Kissu Denton-Savage, Promise House Trust’s Goodwill Ambassador in the UK, thanked the SOS Children’s Village for its great work across the globe and Promise House Trust for such great initiative. She promised to work hand in glove with the team towards the attainment of its wider goals. Mrs. Mama Sillah- Nasso, former teacher to the late Jainaba Sanneh-Darboe in whose memory PHT is established, spoke high...
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16 Days of Activism: Socio-Cultural Norms Contribute to Intimate Partner Violence in Gambia

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Tabu Njie-Sarr Country Director WFD Tabu Njie Sarr, the Country Director of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy has said that one of the factors that contribute to Intimate Partner Violence within the society in the Gambia is Socio-Cultural norms and Values. She was talking to this medium in an interview on Friday, 29th of November 2024 held at TANGO (the home of CSOs and NGOs). The world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25th November 2024 beginning the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence on the theme “every 10 minutes, a woman is killed, United to end violence against Women.” “Intimate Partner Violence can be associated with our socio-cultural norms and values because most of the violence that happens is not only limited to man to woman, but also woman to woman, Woman to man, and a parent to a child,” She said. She said violence cuts across all societies and individuals. She said research revealed that some of the factor...
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