Care Connection Partners supports campaign for improved sanitary aid in Nigeria
Date 5 April 2025
Care Connection Partners is proud to be supporting a campaign to improve access to sanitary products for millions of Nigerian schoolchildren.
Care worker Eshe Iluokhauno moved to the UK from Nigeria in December 2022 to complete his master’s degree and secured a job with East Yorkshire Care Home provider Yorkare Homes, now based at Beverley Parklands Care Home.
Senior Care Assistant Eshe has now launched a charity to help provide sanitary and menstrual products to girls who are unable to access them due to cost and location and often resort to unsafe ways of managing their periods, which also leads to non-attendance at school.
Eshe said Nigeria currently has 18 million children out of school – the highest number in the world – and 60 per cent are girls.
He said he wants to ensure girls have easy access to sanitary products and other items at school to promote equality, empowerment, dignity and confidence, and ensure girls do not have to manage their periods in dangerous, unsanitary and ineffective ways through “period poverty”.
Beverley Parklands Care Home Manager Sammi Atkin, left, with Senior Care Assistant and charity founder Eshe Iluokhauno and Teressa Llewellyn, Group Relationship Manager at Care Connection Partners.
Already supported by his colleagues, Eshe’s campaign and charity has also been backed by other Yorkare Homes care homes across the region, with donations of sanitary towels and tampons delivered to Beverley Parklands Care Home.
Care Connection Partners provides carers to Yorkare Homes including Beverley Parklands, and we have also donated £500 to the charity to help buy further products.
Eshe, who also donates a percentage of his wage to the charity, said: “One of the biggest reasons for children not being in school in Nigeria is period poverty because they can’t afford sanitary aids.
“It’s not just the potential health risk that affects them. Period poverty can also mean girls’ education, wellbeing and sometimes their entire lives are affected.
“Access to menstrual products and safe, hygienic spaces in which to use them is essential for anyone who menstruates. So is the right to manage periods without shame or stigma.
“The situation is dire and it’s getting worse every day. I really want to support them and I’d like to see a pad bank in every school. If we empower girls, we’re improving our nation because it keeps them in school and on the right path for the future.
“Some of these children live in very remote communities and have to walk miles to school without any buses or trains, and it’s even worse when the rain comes.
“The girls resort to using toilet rolls which are not safe and can lead to infection. This situation can also make them lose their confidence and dignity. We’re considering reuseable menstrual pads as an option for girls living in some remote areas.
“I can’t express how grateful we are for the donation from Care Connection Partners towards this. It will go such a long way in supporting our cause.”
Eshe founded the charity, Refreshing Heart for Support and Sustainable Development Initiative (RHSSDI), following his most recent visit to Nigeria last year and has set up a board of those who are equally as passionate about the cause and have charity leadership experience.
He said he would like to return to university to study social work and understand how he can better support people in Nigeria before moving back to the country in the future.
Sammi Atkin, manager at Beverley Parklands Care Home, said: “When I heard about what Eshe was doing and how it had started, I was blown away, and we all support him.
“A lot of our staff are from an African nation and the thought of girls growing up in Nigeria without basic hygiene products is awful. We’ve had a great response so far, with lots of staff donating.”
Wednesday, May 28 is World Menstrual Hygiene Day and Eshe said he plans to continue to campaign for as long as possible.
Teressa Llewellyn, Group Relationship Manager at Care Connection Partners, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to make this donation and our team will continue to support the charity with additional donations of products.
“The majority of our staff are Nigerian and it hit home to me that sanitary products are something so simple that we can buy from the shop for very little money.
“Our children are happy and safe and these products are available in schools if needed. It’s devastating to think girls are growing up in this situation in Nigeria.”
Eshe added: “When you move from a developing country and you see how things are here, there is such a difference. It creates a lot of emotion. I’m very proud to do this and help to make a difference.”
Donations of girls’ underwear in all sizes, sanitary products, or financial donations to the cause, can be dropped off at Beverley Parklands Care Home, Beverley Parklands, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 0RA. Eshe will then arrange for distribution to schools in Nigeria.
Anyone who would like further details about the charity or the initiative can email officialrhssdi@gmail.com