Rivers State Coordinator, Renewed Hope Initiative Tonye Briggs-Onyide, flanked by other dignitaries during the presentation the sanitary pads to students on Monday.
Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt
The Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in partnership with the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has distributed digital learning tablets, cash support and over 10,000 sanitary pads to secondary school students in Rivers State.
The items were presented on Monday at Government House, Port Harcourt, by Senator Tinubu who was represented by the wife of the Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Siminalayi Fubara, through the State Coordinator of RHI, Mrs Tonye Briggs-Oniyide.
Senator Tinubu said the iPads, provided by the NDDC, were meant to enhance digital learning and academic performance of junior secondary school students, disclosing that the devices were preloaded with educational applications to make learning easier and more engaging.
She charged benefiting schools to ensure the gadgets are used strictly for academic purposes and not sold, and directed school authorities to provide evidence of distribution to ensure the learning aids get to the intended students.
Mrs Gladys Ogudechika of Community Secondary School, Oyigbo, who spoke on behalf of the benefiting schools, thanked the Wife of the President and the Wife of the Rivers State Governor for the intervention, saying it would improve the learning skills of the students.
On his part, Boyle Dedeboma of Community Secondary School, Akinima, Ahoada West LGA, commended the initiative, noting that the pre-installed learning applications would greatly assist both teachers and students in the teaching and learning process.
In a related programme with the theme “Empowering School Girls Through Menstrual Health,” the Renewed Hope Initiative also handed over more than ten thousand sanitary pads to the Rivers State Ministries of Education and Health for onward distribution to female students across the state.
Senator Tinubu, represented at the event by Lady Fubara through Mrs Briggs-Oniyide, said the donation was part of efforts to promote menstrual health and hygiene among school girls, and directed the ministries to ensure the pads reach government schools, including mixed schools, with priority given to students in rural communities.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr Mina Ikuru, described the initiative as timely, saying it would help break the silence and stigma surrounding menstrual health among young girls. She urged beneficiaries to speak openly with trusted persons whenever they experience menstrual challenges and to become mentors and ambassadors of the RHI.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, assured that the sanitary pads would be distributed in line with the directive, including to schools in rural areas.
Two of the beneficiaries, Miss Chika Wilson Marvelous of Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta and Miss Okodu Godstime Mirabel of Government Girls Secondary School, Rumueme, expressed appreciation to the Renewed Hope Initiative for the intervention and pledged to use the items effectively and maintain good menstrual hygiene.
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