Spar is helping girls go to school and all you need is R5 to help make that happen

Thousands of girls have missed school in the last year because they could not afford sanitary products, a survey has found.

The findings emerged in a 2018 report conducted by Stellenbosch University’s Law Clinic, which showed 30 percent of South African girls aged 10 to 18 have been forced to skip school during their period.

Of those girls, the average has missed three to five days of school each month during the last year.

With the objective of keeping girls in school, Lifestyle Superspar recently launched a campaign to help local school girls by making it affordable for shoppers to donate sanitary pads.

The retailer is encouraging customers to purchase a pack of Petals Classic sanitary pads 8’s for R5, empowering the many girls who are missing out on their education and putting their lives on hold, as they have little choice but to stay at home.

They have teamed up with three local schools: Nkobongo Resource Centre, Sizani Combined School and R. A. Padayachee Primary School, to whom the pads will be distributed.

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Lifestyle Superspar store manager, Brad Buchanan said: “We have all known for a number of years that the high cost of sanitary pads puts South African girls’ education at risk.

Being able to afford sanitary pads is not a reality for many young girls in disadvantaged communities.

SPAR South Africa recognised that and in an attempt to make sanitary products more affordable, negotiated with suppliers and cut profit margins completely to provide Spar stores countrywide with the means to sell a pack of Petals Classic sanitary pads 8’s at cost.

“We have taken the initiative a step further by providing a mechanism for our customers to contribute to the welfare of many young girls by making it possible for them to attend school throughout the month.”

“We have always tried to ‘support local’, whether it be backing a local entrepreneur by stocking their product, supporting local school sports or getting involved in initiatives to give back to the less fortunate in our community, and this is one of the ways in which we can do just that. We hope, together with our customers, to make a positive difference in the lives of many young girls in our area,” said Buchanan.

Customers are invited to put their purchase into the demarcated collection box in-store and the retailer will deliver the collected products to three local schools for distribution.

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