Health Education and Distribution of Reusable Sanitary Pads (DfG Kits) in Sunu Viillage, West Timor

Sunu is one of the villages in the South Amanatun sub-district which has an area of 8.29 km2 with hilly topography. This area is located at an altitude of approximately 823 meters above sea level, with cool air in the daytime and cold at night. The distance from Sunu Village to the sub-district capital (Oinlasi) is about 16 km. There are 377 households in Sunu Village with the main livelihood being farmers, with low economic income. Because it is located in a hilly area, access to the village is quite difficult due to the rocky road conditions with many steep climbs and need to cross the Noetoko river to reach the village. Especially in the rainy season, the river will overflow so that access to the village is usually can not be passed. Due to these conditions, access to buy and obtain sanitary pads is difficult to reach. The price of sanitary pads at the nearest shop in the village ranges from Rp 8,000-10,000 per pack (contents of 6 pcs). If sanitary pads are not available at the shop in the village, the girls need to shop at the market located in the sub-district capital (Oinlasi) which is 1 hour away with transportation costs around Rp. 20,000 – 25,000. However, the market is only open once a week.

Based on the problems explained above, Foundation for Mother & Child Health (FMCH) Indonesia in collaboration with Priscilla Hall Memorial Foundation (PHMF) implemented the Days for Girls (DfG) program at the Moria Church located in Sunu Village, South Amanatun Sub-District, Timor Tengah Selatan district. This activity was conducted on August 14, 2022 with a total of 50 beneficiaries. The activity begins with health education about clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) and reproductive health. The activity aimed to educate the girls and women in the village to increase awareness and knowledge through a clean and healthy lifestyle movement so they could apply hygienic behavior in their daily life by paying attention to their level of health. Adolescence is the best time to develop good behavior in maintaining hygiene and health which will later become assets in the long run. The girls and women also received reproductive health education to raise awareness and knowledge of the importance of keeping the reproductive system healthy. By having the right knowledge of the reproductive process, as well as how to maintain their health, it will make them more responsible in choosing behaviors and lifestyles that are not at risk, especially regarding the reproductive process. Furthermore, they also practice how to use and care for the DfG kit properly.

The representative of the Moria Church, Pastor Indah P. Radja S.Th, is very grateful to FMCH Indonesia and PHMF for giving the girls and women support through health education and distribution of reusable sanitary pads (DfG kits). She also hopes that there will be a DfG kits for all housewives in Sunu Village area. The women in Sunu village said that they were greatly helped by getting reusable pads (DfG kits) because they could save money by not having to spend money on buying menstruation products. Some of them also had experience not having enough money to buy sanitary pads during menstruation.

There were several barriers during the DfG implementation, including the activities originally planned for August 8, 2022, which had to be postponed to August 14, 2022; some girls could not participate in the activities until finished because they had to take part in walking activities at the sub-district level; some panties sizes were too small so some of the beneficiaries (adult women) could not use it; as well as high customs fees for the delivery of DfG packages to West Timor.