Caring4girls gives learners their dignity back
Kwena Molapo Secondary School benefitted from an act of kindness after the foundation collaborated with a company to care for girls.
A group of girls from Kwena Molapo Secondary School recently experienced a heartwarming act of kindness from Masana. This company supplies petroleum products in collaboration with Imbumba Foundation.
Through their Caring4Girls project, the girls each received 12 packets of sanitary towels, which will last an entire year.
The company’s managing director, Morena Sitholem said they deal with quintile 1 to 3 schools ‘non-fee-paying schools’ which are in the most rural parts of the country. Kwena Molapo Secondary was part of the list.
“We are in communities that do not have proper infrastructure and therefore sanitary towels are the most viable option. Furthermore, many of the families cannot afford to buy sanitary protection for their female family members.
“These packets of sanitary towels will be donated to each of the 750 girls for the full year. This is done in two portions of six months’ supply. Puberty education booklets were also provided to each girl child which covers changes to the female body, menstrual cycles and how they work, the use and disposal of various sanitary products, menstrual hygiene and stigmas, myths, and misconceptions about menstrual cycles.”
Sithole was introduced to Sina Moyane from the Imbumba Foundation through a mutual colleague when a proposal for this partnership was submitted by the foundation to Masana Energy Solutions, which was successful.
“This partnership is important because it tackles two issues namely, health and education. Many girl children miss school due to a lack of access to adequate sanitary protection. Thus, Caring4Girls aims to alleviate period poverty by providing menstrual care to indigent girls to ensure that they do not miss school days and get their quality education while restoring dignity.
This is the second year that the company has supported the school with the hopes of doing more work to empower communities together.
The project is named ‘Caring4Girls’ because in 2010, the founder and CEO of the Imbumba Foundation, Richard Mabaso, overheard a fearful conversation between his mother and niece about menstruation.
At the time he was disempowered to support his niece because such topics are not to be discussed among men. He then ventured to create a programme to not only normalise the conversation but to help many other girls who too suffer from period poverty. This gave birth to the Caring4Girls programme, said Sithole.
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