Organisations work together to restore girls’ dignity
Local organisations came together at the Bright Eyes Trust centre in Berea for an educational workshop where the organisations discussed solutions to the challenges that thousands of South African girls face due to the lack of free access to period products.
MUSGRAVE-BASED organisation Bright Eyes Trust, which works with visually impaired children, recently hosted an event in collaboration with the International Association for Human Values, the Art of Living and the Subz Washable Pads and Panties organisations for a Wakanda Girls event to aid teenage girls.
Project co-ordinator at Bright Eyes Trust, Cathryn Aylett, said the local organisation established Wakanda Girls to address the need for a safe space where teen girls can gather to discuss pertinent topics and address the shortage of essential hygiene products amongst young women in the informal areas.
“Weekly meetings are guided by senior females from the community who share our passion for developing change makers in our local communities through restoring dignity and empowering conversations. Once a month, we distribute toiletries among the girls in a fun and dignified manner. We also host art workshops geared towards processing our emotions and look forward to adding a dance class to the programme,” said Aylett.
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The Subz Washable Pads and Panties representatives, Sharis Spykerman and Sue Barns, delivered a talk about puberty and menstruation and shed some light on the work that their organisation does to help young girls. “A lot of girls don’t actually know what’s happening to their bodies, and they also don’t have access to disposable sanitary wear, so we come in and provide education to them so they understand what’s happening. Then we give them reusable and washable sanitary pads so that they can get into school, not miss any school and have products available to them to get their dignity back,” said Spykerman.
Members from the Art of Living organisation were present to provide attendees with a yoga tutorial, specifically aimed at relieving menstrual cramps. “We have teamed up with Subz, whereby we come in and show the young ladies that at the time of the month when they’re experiencing pain and discomfort, there are certain yoga courses they can do to relieve some pain. We give them pamphlets to take home so they can do it by themselves because it relieves a lot of pain. Young girls at this time of the month lose a lot of confidence, and they don’t go to school, so we show them that’s it normal, and with a little bit of yoga, they can find some relief,” said Shireen Reddy from Art of Living.
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Dr Suren Lutchminarayan from IAHV said the organisation found that the number of young girls who missed school while they were menstruating was alarming. “In SA, we have approximately 7 million schoolgirls between the ages of 10 to 18 years. Twenty-five percent of these girls miss school for one week every month when they menstruate. They simply cannot afford to buy sanitary pads or even panties.”
“We run a project called the Dignity for Girls Project which aims to bring back dignity and comfort to the girls at school by providing them with pads and panties to minimise absenteeism and improve school results and to empower these young girls. So, as volunteers, we hope to change the lives of many young girls at Bright Eyes Trust,” said Lutchminarayan.
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