Health future youths champions
Healthy Futures Youth Champions: Menstrual Dignity, Leadership and Community Action
Empowering young people with knowledge, practical skills and the confidence to lead change in their communities.
Short website summary
Healthy Futures Youth Champions is a New Dawn Foundation initiative promoting menstrual dignity, youth leadership and community action. In August 2026, 26 youth champions aged 13–17 from six communities in Buea Municipality received practical training in menstrual health, hygiene, reusable sanitary pads, cycle tracking, teamwork, creativity and community problem-solving. The project is laying the foundation for inclusive, community-owned clubs where young people can lead peer education and support locally driven solutions to menstrual-health challenges.
New Dawn Foundation’s Healthy Futures Youth Champions project equips adolescents with practical menstrual-health knowledge while developing their leadership, creativity, teamwork and community problem-solving skills.
In August 2026, New Dawn Foundation conducted a foundational training for 26 youth champions and peer educators from six communities in the Buea Municipality, South West Region of Cameroon. The training brought together health education, practical menstrual-health tools and participatory learning to prepare young people for future peer-education and community-club activities.
Project at a Glance
Project | Healthy Futures Youth Champions |
Focus | Menstrual dignity, youth leadership & community action |
Location | Buea Municipality, South West Region, Cameroon |
Communities Represented | Lyongo, Bomaka, Mile 16, Bokwaongo, Long Street & Buea Town |
Youth Champions Trained | 26 |
Age Range | 13–17 years |
Participants | 19 girls and 7 boys |
Training Date | August 28, 2026 |
Next Phase | Establishing inclusive community-owned clubs |
What the Training Covered
The training used a practical, participatory approach that combined health education, skills transfer, experiential learning and community problem-solving.
Understanding the Menstrual Cycle
Participants learned about the menstrual cycle, cycle phases, tracking patterns and situations where medical advice should be sought.
Menstrual Hygiene and Dignity
Young people explored practical menstrual hygiene practices, including handwashing, changing menstrual products, cleanliness, safe disposal and care-seeking. The sessions also challenged harmful beliefs and stigma surrounding menstruation.
Reusable Sanitary Pads
Participants received practical guidance on reusable cloth pads, including their design, use, washing, drying, storage and replacement. The training also discussed the importance of having access to clean water, soap, privacy and suitable drying conditions.
Menstrual Beads
A simple 28-day, colour-coded menstrual-beads bracelet was introduced as a visual cycle-awareness and tracking tool. Participants were also reminded that the tool is not a guaranteed prediction method or a stand-alone family-planning method.
Creativity and Innovation
Through a group innovation challenge, participants worked in four teams to develop ideas using recycled materials. The activity strengthened teamwork, creativity, communication, presentation and collaborative problem-solving.
Problem & Solution Tree
Participants learned how to identify community problems, explore their root causes and effects, and turn those challenges into potential solutions and areas for action. This approach can be applied to future community-led menstrual-health activities.
Building the Next Generation of Youth Leaders
The training represents an important first step toward a broader community-club model. New Dawn Foundation plans to work with youth, health workers, women’s groups, schools, faith communities and local leaders to establish inclusive, safe and community-owned clubs across the six participating communities.
The trained youth champions can become peer educators, mobilizers and future club leaders, while local stakeholders can contribute community support, meeting spaces, safeguarding, mobilisation and referral pathways.
Our Vision
We believe that menstrual health education should be grounded in accurate information, dignity, practical skills and community ownership.
By supporting young people to become informed peer educators and community leaders, New Dawn Foundation is laying the foundation for communities where menstruation can be discussed openly and respectfully—and where young people have the knowledge and confidence to identify challenges and help create locally relevant solutions.
The training is the beginning. The next step is turning knowledge into sustained community action.
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