Plan International has built a female-friendly toilet facility for the Bueman Senior High School in the Jasikan Municipality of the Oti region.

The facility has four toilet cubicles and two rooms for changing. Also included in the facility are two incinerators for burning disposed items.

This facility comes after the headmaster, Mr Frank Boamah, appealed to the organisation to pay attention to the girls’ place of convenience during the 2024 celebration of Menstrual Hygiene Day in school.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony in the school, the headmaster, who was elated about the project, expressed his appreciation to the organisation for their intervention.

“Today marks a truly significant occasion in our history. For years, we have strived to provide the best possible environment for our learners, and a crucial aspect of that is access to proper sanitation. Today, thanks to the incredible generosity of Plan International. We are celebrating the donation of a modern toilet facility that would transform the daily lives of our school community, particularly our schoolgirls," he said.

The headmaster also indicated that the old structure did not provide any form of privacy to the adolescent girls as they struggled to share a common space, which often led to some health concerns among the girl population.

"Our female learners in the boarding house, whose population stands at 1,652, representing 55.8% of total learners in the boarding house, have faced significant challenges due to inadequate sanitation facilities. This often led to discomfort and health concerns among our adolescent girls. The lack of privacy and hygienic spaces has been a constant source of worry for us. As educators and for the girls themselves, the new facility you have thoughtfully and expertly constructed is nothing short of relief and transformation. It is a beacon of dignity, health and comfort”, he added.

Mr. Boamah assured proper maintenance of the facility to promote its lifespan.

Some of the students who are the direct beneficiaries of the facility have been expressing their joy and gratitude to the donors for their kind gesture.

According to the girls’ prefect, Abas Huda, the days of insufficient rooms for attending to the call of nature and proper sanitation were gone.

She recalled sad situations when some students had to attend to the call of nature at unauthorised places, which made them uncomfortable.

“Before the inauguration of this facility, we did not have enough toilet rooms to attend to nature’s call. This made students go to unauthorised places to ease themselves. I hope this facility will put an end to that practice. The old facility also lacked safety and privacy. We sometimes see scorpions and snakes whenever we visit the old facility. I want to believe that with this facility, our safety and privacy are assured,” she concluded.

The country director, Constant Tchona, in a statement, said the interest of the organisation was borne from the call by the headmaster during the 2024 menstrual hygiene day celebration in the school, when it was realised that the old toilet facility for the girls was not safe and proper for use.

The organisation argued that menstruation should not be a barrier to the education of the girl child but should be seen as part of the growth process.

“Plan International took this request seriously because of our commitment to girls and our overarching objective to ensure that menstruation by girls does not become a barrier to them and does not contribute to their staying out of school. It should be a period that they are all comfortable with and able to learn. Plan International, through our integrated package for the sustainable community development project, took this challenge up. As an organisation with sexual reproductive health and education as our core work, we could not turn a blind eye to the request that was made, especially by the girls. I am proud that we have responded and responded positively".

Mr Tchona again indicated that the facility is more than just a toilet, adding that it is a symbol of dignity, empowerment and our unwavering commitment to gender equality.

The Ghana Education Service and the District Assembly representatives who were present added to the songs of praise for the donation and also encouraged the school to maintain it at all times.

The organisation called on the school to take proper care of the facility so as to ensure value for the investment made in the school.