Organized by Colégio SEPAM in Ponta Grossa, the project brings together adolescent girls from the community for discussions on topics related to sexuality and women’s health.
The “Projeto Menarca” (Menarche Project), an initiative focused on promoting women’s health and developed by Colégio Sepam in Ponta Grossa, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Established in 2002, the program—which aims to raise awareness and provide guidance to adolescents reaching menarche (their first period)—had reached 72,000 girls by 2019, and resumed operations in 2022.
Through sessions featuring talks and informal discussions for adolescents aged 12 to 16, the project serves public schools and centers for juvenile offenders, addressing topics related to sexuality and women’s health. Discussions cover issues such as the risks of STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and the challenges stemming from teenage pregnancy. Over the project’s 20-year history, 420 students from the school have participated as volunteers.
“What sets the Menarche Project apart—and what has ensured its success—is the strategy used to facilitate the discussions. The volunteers are students from Sepam who are in the same age group as the participants; they lead the sessions themselves, without any teachers present in the room. In this way, it’s girls talking to girls about a subject that is part of their shared reality, which helps break down the barriers that often arise when an adult addresses these topics with young people,” explains Jacob Cavagnari, pedagogical and project coordinator at Sepam.
According to Larissa Pasturczak, a physical education teacher at Sepam who oversees the initiative, the student volunteers receive training from specialized professionals to prepare them for these sessions. “The training takes place through meetings with the project coordinators and lectures given by gynecologist Isabela Mongruel, who covers topics with the girls such as human anatomy and physiology, STIs, contraceptive methods, and the importance of the HPV vaccine. In addition, we hold sessions with a psychologist, who discusses the value of volunteering and the personal well-being that comes from participating in the project,” explains Larissa.
A successful initiative, the program has won four national awards: the School Award for the Prevention of STIs, AIDS, and Drug Use (UNESCO/UN – 2003), the Young Sower Award (Iberá Sementes – 2004), the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Brazil Award (Brazilian Government – 2005), and the Building the Nation Award (CNI/SESI – 2007).
Colégio Sepam also carries out other projects aimed at the community in the Ponta Grossa region—such as the Citizenship Group (Grupo da Cidadania), Step by Step, and ECOPAM—all of which are focused on the civic development of the students.
