21-year-old Lisah Paul was all smiles after receiving her Dignity Kit.
She could not express in words, but her smiles and gestures said it all as she went through the contents of what she received.
Lisah who was born deaf, was brought to the Wonepap Catholic Parish by her grandmother, who heard news of the distribution of the kits from the local priest.
They traveled a few miles from their local village to reach the church. Women and girls are among the most vulnerable during a humanitarian crisis, or in this case, election-related violence, and too often women and girls with disabilities are forgotten.
Lisah was among 300 women and girls in Laiagam District who each received a Dignity Kit.
These women continue to face the consequences of the 2022 election-related violence in the district, and most are displaced, living in neighboring villages.
This saw women and girls from fourteen villages around the district travelled to get to Wonepap Catholic Church to receive menstrual pads and soap and basic hygiene supplies.
Apart from Lisah was Erika Aiyah, from the Mapumanda outstation in Laiagam who expressed her gratitude on behalf of the 25 women from her outstation, and the women in her district, saying the products in the kits were of great need to the women.
“We need this! We need menstrual pads. We need underwear. We need torches and whistles during times of violence and these kits meet our needs and more.”
Aiyah also shared that election-related violence continues to exist in the villages and where women being killed.
“Living in our villages is not safe anymore because violence erupts unexpectedly.” “Most of the women have moved into the Catholic outstation in Mapumanda because in the Church, we are safe, so we seek refuge there.”
The local priest at Wonepap Catholic Station, Father Newman Kingi, distributed the kits and reminded the women and girls of the importance of utilizing all the products in the kits.
He thanked UNFPA and USAID for such a generous donation of important hygiene items to the affected women and girls.
“We are thankful for this support, for recognizing the needs our women and girls face, and for these partners for stepping in and helping.”
“Thank you for these kits and also for the new tent, which will be used as a safe space for them.”
UNFPA, through the funding support of USAID, provided the district with a tent to be used as a temporary safe space for people who are displaced by violence to receive information and to seek support.
Though basic, safe spaces such as these, are easily accessible to survivors of violence in Laiagam District. Frontline responders in the district have received training in psychological first aid to provide evidence-based psychosocial care for survivors. Fr. Newman stated that these affected women and girls find refuge in the church and through this partnership between UNFPA and the Catholic Church, more will be done and look forward to it.