Empowering 33 Girls in Kawo: How Plastics Became Pads, and Pads Became Confidence

On 17th October, WonderWoman Nigeria brought the Plastics for Pads movement to Kawo Community in Kaduna State, turning environmental action into dignity, learning, and empowerment for 33 adolescent girls.

This outreach wasn’t just a distribution event. It was a safe space filled with learning, laughter, sisterhood, and the powerful reminder that every girl deserves knowledge, health, and confidence.

Thanks to our partnership with Bouygues Construction Nigeria Limited, who have supported our recycling efforts since early 2023, plastic waste collected in their resident camp in Jabi, was transformed into sanitary pads that directly reached the girls we met yesterday.
A full-circle moment: waste turned into a menstrual health product and service.

Why We Were in Kawo

The Plastics for Pads Project was created to close two gaps at once:
1. Reduce plastic pollution through community and corporate recycling.
2. Provide menstrual hygiene support to vulnerable girls who often face period poverty, misinformation, and stigma.

Kawo in Kaduna North was selected as one of our priority communities because many adolescent girls here still lack access to basic menstrual health information and safe menstrual products. The outreach aimed to change that with sensitivity, clarity, and care.

What the Girls Learned

Our facilitators, chaired by our Founder Edith Augustine, led an interactive, age-appropriate session focused on:
• Understanding puberty and the menstrual cycle
• Proper menstrual hygiene and safe body care
• Myths and misconceptions about menstruation
• Consent, body boundaries, and emotional wellbeing
• How recycling and environmental responsibility help empower girls

We kept the conversation open and non-judgmental, creating a space where the girls could ask questions freely.
And they did, bravely.

From “Is it normal for cycles to change?” to “Why do people shame girls when they are on their period?”, the girls engaged deeply, showing curiosity and relief to finally have answers.

Pads, Confidence & New Advocates

Every girl left with a pack of sanitary pads procured through the proceeds from the plastics collected in partnership with Bouygues Construction Nigeria Limited. But far more importantly, they left with:
• Knowledge
• Reassurance
• New confidence
• A sense of community

Many of them expressed interest in becoming peer educators and helping dispel harmful myths in their schools, churches, and mosques.
This is the ripple effect we work for: girls teaching girls, community strengthening community.

Why This Outreach Matters

Period poverty isn’t just about the cost of pads.
It’s also about:
• Missing school
• Feeling ashamed
• Having no one to ask questions
• Using unsafe alternatives
• Feeling disconnected from your own body

With every outreach, WonderWoman Nigeria works to dismantle these barriers. Kawo Community showed us how much impact can happen when girls are given space to learn and be heard.

And thanks to environmental partners like Bouygues, we are proving that sustainability and girl empowerment don’t just coexist, but strengthen each other.

A Big Thank You

To Bouygues Construction Nigeria Limited, thank you for walking this journey with us - from waste collection to direct social impact.
To the Kawo community leaders, thank you for welcoming our team and opening your doors.
And to the brilliant girls we met: we see you, we celebrate you, and we are cheering you on.