Student Journalist wins Databank Foundation Leadership Award

By Selasie Amu [selasiewrites.blogspot.com]

May 26, 2022: ACCRA. Richard Agodzo, a level 400 journalism major of the African University College of Communications pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies has won this year’s Databank Foundation’s Leadership and Excellence award.

Speaking after a virtually held awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Agodzo, whose project HelpPadHer was chosen out of several entries from six universities in Ghana, said the initiative is to support the low income girl child with reusable sanitary pads.

Agodzo said the initiative was prompted by a traumatic experience involving his menstruating classmate in Junior High School. HelpPadHer is therefore designed to help students in pre-university (Primary, Junior High and Senior High) have access to reusable sanitary pads as needed. The pads are promoted by Days For Girls Ghana.

Agodzo said the first phase of the project is being piloted with school girls in the Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro municipality in the Greater Accra region.

According to the 2022 Leadership awardee, the principal objective of HelpPadHer is to purchase reusable sanitary pads for school girls to ensure that girls do not have to miss school simply because they are menstruating.

Agodzo said he plans to advocate for the abolishment of government taxation on the importation of sanitary pads, considering the essential nature of pads to low income school girls.

The Databank Foundation’s Leadership and Excellent awards saw awardees from institutions such as the African University College of Communications, University of Ghana, Pentecost University College, Central University, Ashesi University, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Education, Winneba.