A fine young lady in Soshanguve, Ms Relebogile Moabelo, has embarked on a sanitary pads donation drive to help deserving young girls who can’t afford them.
The 25-year-old Ms Moabelo, a practicing attorney, said she wanted to contribute and be part of something bigger this youth month.
She said the pad drive initiative aims to create a voice for girls.
“The collected pads will be donated to the Lift Jesus Up (LJUP) church for the young girls in Soshanguve who will be attending the LJUP career expo on 15 June 2019.”
She said a friend once told her about a girl she knew who used black cloths when menstruating because her family could not afford sanitary towels. “That really touched me and made me start the pad drive”.
Ms Moabelo said girls do not have a choice on whether they want to be on their periods or not. It is something that is inherit and unfortunately costly.
“To think that girls are unable to afford the basic need is a great injustice and I am aware that handing out pads is a short term solution to a long life problem but we need to have more discussions on how to solve the long term problem.
“To be able to relief a burden from an already burdened life, even for a month is the step in the right direction,” said Ms Moabelo.
She said the project has gotten a lot of momentum and she will keep encouraging people to donate even after youth month.
Research has shown that underprivileged girls can miss up to 50 days of school year due to lack of access to adequate feminine hygiene.
Girl’s choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by cost, availability and social norms. Menstruation is a barrier to education for many of our girls and restricts their opportunities for involvement in educational and sport activates.
