RAJSHAHI, June 17, 2022 (BSS) - A school sanitation complex has been opened at Shaheed Nazmul Haque Girls High School in the city aimed at habituating its students to lead a healthy life through using water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene management.

In the school sanitation complex, ten toilets and two menstrual hygiene managements, including some other need-based amenities of sanitary pad, sanitizer and tissue, were set up.
 
Apart from this, there were sufficient lighting facilities for drying besides comfort fresh rooms for the girls in the complex. A drinking water station was installed for safe drinking water management in addition to establishing two hand washing stations.

WaterAid Bangladesh and Village Education Resource Centre (VERC) have implemented the school sanitation complex with an estimated cost of around Taka 11.12 lakh supported by German Development and Cooperation and Climate Bridge Fund.

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) extended its cooperation to implement the scheme.

School Managing Committee President Shaheen Akhter Rainy opened the complex Thursday as chief guest saying the adolescent girls will be sensitized about menstrual hygiene development.

She mentioned that menstruation is still treated as a taboo in the present society as discussions about menstrual health and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) take place in closed doors.

She, however, attributed that this School Sanitation Complex will lead the adolescent girls to a right direction.

With Headmaster of the school Abbas Uddin Ahmed in the chair, the ceremony was addressed, among others, by RCC Ward Councilor Abdul Momin, Chief Community Development Officer Azizur Rahman, WaterAid Project Manager Saief Monjur, Zonal Coordinator Rezaul Huda and VERC Project Manager Kamruzzaman Sarker.

Rezaul Huda told the meeting that WaterAid Bangladesh has been implementing a three-year project titled "Composite Actions for Climate Migrants in Urban Slums (CACMUS)" for the last couple of months in the city.

 
Around 10,000 climate migrants will get clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene support in ten slum areas with intervention of the project.

Thirty-two resilient and context-specific facilities have so far been installed and renovated in addition to installation and renovation of 22 community toilets.

Apart from this, 64 community people have been imparted caretaker training for operation and maintenance of the water options.

He said the project is intended to establish replicable community-managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, facilitate better economic opportunities for the beneficiaries, and link climate migrants with microfinance services and pro-poor WASH services provided by the city authorities.