Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
She should not have to hide
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
The project "she should not have to hide" is a youth led menstrual health initiative working to ensure adolescent girls in schools can manage their period with dignity, access to essential menstrual product and supportive environments.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahmah-mohammed-b6a25735b?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_android Initiative's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olokikivoices?igsh=MXZzaW9hdHM5YWE4eA==
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
The spark for the project “she should not have to hide” came from an experience I had as a 13-year-old student. While on my period, my school uniform became stained before I had finished my first examination paper, and I still had several hours left in school. I left for the toilet immediately I submitted my paper and I confirmed my suspicion, I was actually stained. I couldn’t go outside because of the fear of being noticed, scared of being laughed at, so I just hid. I had no one to ask for help and no safe space to ask for an extra pad, so I just stayed in the toilet standing, until it was few hours to the second paper. And now years later, I couldn’t help but wonder if a girl should have to worry about hiding a natural biological process while trying to learn. My lived experience made me realize that menstrual challenges in schools are more than access to sanitary products. Lack of access to menstrual products, inadequate facilities, stigma, and limited menstrual health education can all affect how girls experience school. So instead of accepting these experiences as normal, I wanted to create a solution that would make schools more supportive places for girls. “She Should Not Have to Hide” grew from that personal experience into a vision of schools where girls can access menstrual products, accurate information, and support without shame or fear.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
For many girls, menstruation can become a barrier to feeling comfortable, confident, and fully participating in school. When girls do not have reliable access to menstrual products or a supportive environment where they can ask for help, they may experience embarrassment, anxiety, distraction, or eventually miss learning opportunities. In my community, menstrual health is also affected by stigma and silence. Girls may feel uncomfortable asking for sanitary products or discussing their periods, while schools may not always have systems in place to provide emergency menstrual products. This matters to me because I have personally experienced the embarrassment of having my uniform stained while I was in school, I know what it feels like to stand when you desperately need to sit, I know what it feels like to want to disappear rather than ask for help and I believe no girl should have to choose between hiding her period and participating fully in her education.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
The project “she should not have to hide” combines menstrual-health education with a practical school-based support system. In the pilot phase, we will work with two secondary schools in Ilorin to: 1. Conduct interactive menstrual-health and hygiene sessions for adolescent girls, covering puberty, menstrual care, myths, stigma, managing periods at school and when to seek appropriate health support. 2. Create a safe space where girls can ask questions and share the challenges they experience during menstruation. 3. Install a sanitary-pad dispenser in each participating school. 4. Establish a menstrual emergency station stocked with sanitary products and appropriate disposal supplies. 5. Work with each school to identify a trusted female staff member who can oversee access and replenishment. 6. Collect anonymous baseline and follow-up feedback to measure changes in menstrual health knowledge, confidence and access to emergency products. The goal is not simply to give girls pads once, but to leave schools with a practical support system that can continue serving girls after the project team leaves.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
As an early-stage project, our immediate goal is to pilot the model in selected schools and create measurable improvements in menstrual health awareness, access, and confidence. We aim to reach girls through menstrual health education sessions, provide reliable access to emergency sanitary products, and work with schools to establish sustainable systems for menstrual product access. Through this project, we aim to reach at least 100 adolescent girls across two secondary schools in Ilorin. We plan to provide interactive menstrual-health education, create safe spaces for girls to ask questions, and install a sanitary-pad dispenser and menstrual emergency station in each school, stocked with sanitary products. We will measure impact through anonymous pre and post project feedback, tracking changes in menstrual health knowledge, confidence and access to emergency products. We will also follow up with the schools to assess whether the stations remain functional. For me, impact means that the next girl who unexpectedly gets her period at school does not have to hide, she knows where to get help, has access to what she needs, and can remain in class with dignity.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Our project is different because it moves beyond treating menstrual health as only an awareness or donation issue. Many girls may receive information about menstruation, while others may receive sanitary products, but our project connects knowledge with immediate, practical support within the school environment. Our innovation is a simple, youth-led model built around four ideas that is Listen, Educate, Equip and Sustain. First, we listen to girls through questions and feedback to understand the challenges they actually face. Second, we provide age-appropriate menstrual-health education that addresses myths, stigma and managing periods at school. Third, instead of making a one-time donation, we establish a menstrual emergency station with a sanitary-pad dispenser and initial supplies within the school. Fourth, we work with the school to identify a trusted female staff member who can oversee access and replenishment, creating ownership beyond our visit. The project is also designed around a personal experience. I was 13 when I stained my school uniform during an examination and discovered there were no sanitary pads available in the toilet. I hid because I did not know where else to turn but we are taking that experience and turning it into a practical school based solution for other girls. Our approach is intentionally low-cost and replicable. We will document what works, measure changes in knowledge and access, and use the lessons from our two-school pilot to refine the model for more schools across Ilorin and eventually Kwara State. We are not trying to reinvent menstrual products but we are rethinking how a school can make them accessible, while ensuring girls are informed, heard and supported.
How many people are on your team?
16
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Our 16-member team shares responsibility across project coordination, school outreach, partnerships and fundraising, logistics, technical, communications, media and monitoring. I lead the overall project and coordinate our direction, while team members take ownership of their assigned areas and contribute to decisions during planning meetings. We share leadership by allowing members to lead tasks, propose ideas and report progress, rather than having all decisions rest with one person.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next months, we will move the project from concept to pilot implementation. First, we will finalize the project design, budget and monitoring framework and secure permission to work with two secondary schools in Ilorin. We will then approach potential partners, including menstrual-health organizations, sanitary-product companies, health professionals, local businesses and philanthropic supporters, seeking financial, in-kind and technical support. Next, we will secure donations for two sanitary-pad dispensers, menstrual products and disposal supplies, while developing age-appropriate educational materials. We will train our volunteers and work with each school to identify a trusted female staff member to oversee the menstrual emergency station. Then we will conduct the two school pilot, reaching at least 100 adolescent girls through menstrual-health education and girls’ listening sessions and finally, we will collect feedback, document lessons learned and follow up with the schools to assess whether the menstrual stations remain functional. Our longer-term goal is to refine the model and expand it to more schools across Ilorin and Kwara State.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
We use storytelling, peer engagement and social media to make conversations about issues affecting young people more accessible and for our project, we will use my personal experience as an entry point to challenge the shame and silence surrounding menstruation. We will share educational content about menstrual health, girls’ education and period stigma through Olókìkí Voices’ platforms, while encouraging young people to participate as volunteers, advocates and peer educators. Within schools, we will create interactive sessions where girls can ask anonymous questions, share their experiences and contribute ideas about what would make their school more supportive during menstruation. We also plan to share anonymized lessons and findings from the pilot so that parents, teachers, organizations and community members can better understand the issue and support solutions and as the project grows, we will also invite schools, community organizations, health professionals, businesses, philanthropists, and other partners to contribute resources, expertise, or funding. Our aim is not only to attract people to the project, but to help more people see menstrual health as a community issue that deserves collective action.
