That time of the month shouldn’t mean missing school, period! Menstruation, also known as a period, is a monthly discharge of blood and tissue that occurs in females.

Due to the lack of sanitary towels, many female learners skip school. But menstruation shouldn’t result in absence and girls shouldn’t miss out on an education as a result.

Noziphiwo Londeka Mazibuko a grade 12 pupil at Drakensberg Secondary School (DSS) has come up with a campaign ‘Dignity for girls’ where she will hand out free sanitary towels to girls in and around Estcourt, mostly targeting rural schools.

The young lass was crowned Miss DSS in 2015, and this being her last year, she thought the campaign would be a great way to give back to her school. She kick-started the campaign at the school on Thursday morning by first giving a speech to her fellow school mates during assembly, in which she highlighted that menstruation, is a very healthy and natural body process.

“Be more compassionate and respectful towards us during this time, and know that it is not ok to say hurtful things…,” she urged while addressing the boys.

To give Noziphiwo a head start, Miss K Grewan donated 1 000 packs of sanitary towels. Noziphiwo would like to thank her school, staff at Meals on Wheels, Connor Street Clinic and Dr Ntuli for their support and generous donations.