Educating girls is educating a nation
On June 12, 2025, Afama Mino Elementary School hosted its first Girls’ Day. More than 280 people gathered at the school premises to engage in various sessions focused on the health of adolescent girls.
The event was part of St. Mary Hospital outreach program in Afama Mino kebele, a village 15 km from Subbo, Ethiopia. The day featured a range of engaging activities, including health education, storytelling, educational dramas, an open Q&A time, and the distribution of menstrual hygiene and sanitation materials.
The Girls’ day was coordinated by St. Mary Hospital outreach team, and it was open to adolescent students, both girls and boys, families of the students, teachers, and local community leaders.
St. Mary Hospital outreach team preparing for the Girls’ Day
Alemtsehay Leulseged, Health Officer and School Project Focal Person, led a comprehensive education session on menstrual hygiene management, reproductive health, and key issues, such as the risks of abortion, the consequences of female genital mutilation, and the impact of early marriage on girls’ health and future potential.
The outreach team also distributed brochures designed for the topics written in easily understandable illustrations and language.
Grade 6 students Africa Amona (in the picture) and Dibora Degu shared with their peers their personal experience managing menstrual hygiene and how it helped them avoid missing school days.
A group of students performed an educational drama showing the reasons adolescent girls drop out of school, emphasizing the importance for them to receive support from their classmates and the wider school community.
Kaleb Ganbero, a Grade 7 student, composed and read a poem to express his solidarity and encourage people to provide care and support for adolescent girls in school.
After the sessions, menstrual hygiene kits, and sanitation soap were distributed to the participating adolescent girls.
On behalf of the community, Afama Mino kebele leader Wogayehu Welde expressed his gratitude to St. Mary Catholic Primary Hospital and presented the hospital’s acknowledgments to the students who participated in the educational drama and to the winners of the question-and-answer session.
Gemechu Seta, the director of Afama Mino Elementary School, addressed the Hospital team with gratitude and commended the project for positively shaping students' lives not only by improving their health, but also by contributing to educational quality through the reduced absenteeism.
