By Peter Okolie
The Nigeria-American Football Association (NAFA), through its Gridiron Gems Initiative, on Wednesday empowered 500 girls in Owerri, Imo State, with sports mentorship and menstrual hygiene support.
The outreach, held at Girls Secondary School, Ikenegbu, combined American football training with health education and the distribution of menstrual hygiene materials to promote the well-being and development of adolescent girls.
Speaking at the event, NAFA Vice President and Coordinator of the initiative, Miss Nancy Damhindi, said the programme was designed to solve visibility and career accessibility problems for women in sports.
“We discovered that girls learn to play sports, especially American football, but stop as athletes. Some don’t even go beyond secondary school level,” Damhindi said.
She said the initiative, implemented in partnership with Browns Nigeria, Pads for Her Initiative and Bemore Empowerment Foundation, was challenging stereotypes that restrict Nigerian women’s potential to domestic roles.
She said many girls stop sports after secondary school due to parental and societal limits.
“Our aim is to create a platform of safety for girls to aspire to become American-Football sports lawyers, sports doctors, players, coaches or referees, not just kitchen roles,” she said.
She added that the initiative was also addressing period poverty through the distribution of sanitary pads and other essential hygiene products.
“Today, we also provided bags containing sanitary pads, roll-ons, and motivational affirmation cards to the students for self-esteem.
“Some girls are suffering from period poverty, struggling with access to menstrual pads,” she said.
Damhindi said the Owerri outreach followed a similar programme in Lagos where 500 girls were empowered, adding that the initiative would soon be extended to Abuja.
She explained that participants also received practical training in flag football, including lessons on player positions and basic game techniques.
“Instructors taught the students positions like quarterback, alongside essential gameplay techniques like snapping and pulling flags,” she added.
One of the beneficiaries, Miss Chizaramepere Duru, said the programme helped participants understand the dual impact of the sports clinics and health lectures.
“From the lecture, we were told not to be ashamed of our bodies and see it as a privilege to be a girl,” Duru said.
Another student, Miss Precious Opara, commended Bemore Empowerment Foundation and Mrs Betty Akeredolu for supporting the menstrual hygiene component of the programme.
“I learnt that menstrual health should not stop girls from participating actively in sports,” she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Funmilayo Adeyemi