Who are we?

 The Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Family Reproductive Health Association (SWP FREHA) is the oldest reproductive health association in Malaysia. We have been providing services and catering to the reproductive health needs of individuals - women and men, as well as families since 1953.

Why do we start a fundraiser?

 Social issues involving teenagers, such as teenage pregnancies, baby dumping, and sexual abuse are prevalent. On average, 30 to 50 teens give birth daily; 100 babies are abandoned every year and only 4 out of 10 survive; and 1,000 rape cases involving children below 18 years old. One of the main reasons for this is because of lack of awareness on sexual reproductive health and incomplete sexual education especially in the school level. Adolescence is the stage where the teenage boys and girls want to explore many things. However, without proper guidelines, they could not be on the right track. So, we would like to take an initiative to introduce them with CSE with hope that, they will understand certain topics and can differentiate between right and wrong and know the implication of their decisions. We do hope that, they will also be able to share the knowledge with their friends and families out there.

 Associate Professor Dr Aizura Syafinaz Ahmad Adlan, UM Specialist Centre (UMSC) obstetrician and gynaecologist opined that there was a need for a review in sex education in secondary schools, which only emphasised on basic biology of the human body’s reproductive system. “The approach to sex education is too academic and still indirect as most people shy away from discussing the topic of ‘sexuality’ - Dr Aizura Syafinaz during a joint interview with Bernama on teenage pregnancy at UMSC.

 “When statistics showed that teenage pregnancy was higher within 15 year olds, we simply decided to educate students earlier, in Form 1 at 13 years of age. How is this thoroughly thought? Schools don’t teach about the sex act per se and highlighting the pros and cons. The eventuality of not knowing the consequences of having unsafe sex deceives the girl into pregnancy, and enduring the problems thereafter,” she added.

 According to a 2015 survey backed by the Health Ministry, 35 per cent of Malaysian female youths believe that having sex for the first time does not lead to pregnancy, and one in five Malaysians believe that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) could be transmitted by mosquitoes – an alarming interpretation!

 Not only that, we also aimed to tackle the issue of period poverty especially the B40 communities. Period poverty is defined as the inability of a menstruating person to access sanitary products and safe, hygienic places in which to use them. Many underserved women do not use sanitary pads during menstruation and replace it with non-sanitary products such as socks, banana leaves and coconut husks. So, this fundraising will be used to buy sanitary pads to be delivered to teenage girls from underserved communities with low income as well as educating them on proper menstrual hygiene management.

How do we do this?

1)     We would like to provide the communities with the workshop. At the end of the program, they will be able to understand several components of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and apply the knowledge in their daily lives

2)     Get a speaker and few volunteers to be the facilitators during the workshop. FReHA’s members, interns or partners (Afghan, Somali) can join as volunteers

3)     Buy the materials : markers, mah-jong paper, colour pencils to make the learning process fun

4)     Introduce FReHA and open for volunteers and membership

What is the target?

 We aim to raise RM 5,000 that will be used to organise health awareness workshops and talks on sexual reproductive health and rights, especially for the young people. We are targeting to do this workshop to marginalised and vulnerable communities in and around Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan including:

-         orphanage

-         boys homes

-         refugee youth

-         youth rehabilitation centre

-         women’s welfare institutions

-         students in school

How would your contribution makes a difference?

1)     Speaker fee: RM 600 per session X 5 = RM 3000

2)     Learning materials : RM 200

3)     Transportation fees, facilitators : RM 1000

4)     Sanitary pads : RM 800