Imagine a man (a black man, nogal!) collecting sanitary pads and distributing them to poor girls.
Well, you don’t have to imagine it, it is happening. A young brother to the late Sunday Times journalist Mawande “Bruno” Jubasi, Vuyo, is doing it.
Vuyo, originally from Kagiso, and a former classmate, collects sanitary pads and distribute them to schools around Mogale City. He started doing that two or so years ago, and he is still doing it. What a noble man!
It is public knowledge that sanitary pads are a serious challenge for young girls who come from poor families. So serious is the challenge that some don’t even go to school when it is that time of the month, whilst some use tissue to pad. The situation is dire.
It is a crime for young school-going girls to miss class because of pads. But they do miss class because they don’t have them. We shouldn’t allow this abnormal situation to be normal. Or has it become normal? I hope not.
Most people who support Vuyo in terms of donating pads are women. Anyway, that is expected. Females understand the challenge better. But women who are donating are few. We appeal for more to do so.
That said, it is high time that men also donate pads so that Vuyo can help more poor girls in the city. And maybe start collecting pads as well? That is not asking for too much. These are our kids too.
Vuyo is not doing this project to break stereotypes or to be famous. He’s doing it because it’s the right thing to do. He deserves praise for the sanitary pads project he has started. Such an initiative should enjoy total support from the community.
