The initiative was aimed at educating school children and students to serve as ambassadors in their efforts to raise awareness on menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM) as well as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) within schools.
The project funded by the French Embassy in The Gambia and Senegal and coordinated by Alliance Francaise de Banjul, also seeks to improve menstrual health practices, reduce stigma, and combat period shaming while empowering students to become advocates for change.
The Funneh Board Game is a game-based learning platform designed to engage both male and female students, young and old, in discussing sensitive topics such as MHHM and gender-based violence. So far, the project has reached 880 students and 35 schoolteachers from 35 schools across regions 1 and 2. Of the total participants, 475 were girls, and 440 were boys.
At the event, Future Generation Senior Secondary School emerged winners of the Funneh Board Game Inter School Competition, while Gunjur Senior Secondary School took second position.
Jabang Senior Secondary School finished third. Also, the Senior Secondary Schools that participated in the competition each received gifts and certificates upon completion of the competition.
At the event, Landing Sonko, Principal Education Officer at Regional Education Directorate One in Kanifing, while expressing delight to be associated with the event, said Girls’ Pride Gambia is a household name in The Gambia as far as girls and women’s empowerment are concerned.
He also expressed gratitude to the organisers, saying Girls’ Pride Gambia is complementing the efforts of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education by helping women and girls realize their full potential.
Limamu Hydara, judge for the competition, described the overall project as a success as all the schools that participated put in all their best effort.
“I think the stakeholders should collaborate and ensure that this is incorporated into the school system so that every student and every teacher regardless of gender can be well equipped with necessary knowledge on MHHM,” he stated.
“Period shaming and bullying of girls by boys for seeing period or staining their uniforms will all be history and also girls will be able to calculate their periods and be better prepared to take care of themselves whenever and wherever they start their periods. The boys will also be supportive to their siblings instead of belittling or harassing girls.”
He observed that GBV is usually seen as physical violence and where there is no physical scar or injury less attention is paid to the victim but this knowledge will make them understand that GBV is beyond physical.
“There is emotional and psychological violence and sometimes the impact of the emotional violence is even more difficult to manage. So, this sensitization will help address these issues,” he further said.
Masanneh Camara, Focal Point for Region Two commended Girls’ Pride Gambia for their work, noting that their intervention is really timely and key since Population and Family Life which was previously part of school curricular has disappeared.
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