Thousands of sanitary products donated to local high school
“The pandemic hampered our ability to help our adopted schools, but we still want to make an impact in the communities which fall under our operating license.”
At least 1 200 sanitary products were donated to girls at the Soshanguve high school, north of Pretoria, by staff from Sun International’s Time Square, east of Pretoria, last week.
Time Square staff reportedly collected more than 600 sanitary products for girls and the school and the casino matched the donation.
“Our people were eager to help the school, with departments competing to collect the most sanitary products. Some collected money and went out and bought the products,” Time Square general manager Ruben Gooranah said.
He said they decided to match whatever the staff collected after they came up with the project to donate sanitary pads to the school.
ALSO READ: Team Tshwane to take on other metros in indigenous game challenge
Time Square was said to have adopted the school as part of Sun International’s Adopt-A-School initiative wherein business units identified schools to support – from infrastructure maintenance to donating much-needed learning materials.
“The pandemic hampered our ability to help our adopted schools, but we still want to make an impact in the communities which fall under our operating license,” Gooranah said.
Staff at the casino reportedly stepped up to help communities which would normally benefit from the casino’s socio-economic development (SED) DUE TO Time Square’s ability to carry out their usual SED projects being hampered.
“The school serves an underprivileged community, where many families survive on a government grant. Unfortunately, sanitary pads are seen as luxury,” the school’s head of department Sindi Ndlovu.
“Most learners will either stay at home when they have their period because they fear being mocked by others or to ask teachers for pads that they don’t always have.”
According to a report by the Global Citizen organisation, an estimated 3.7 million South African girls cannot afford sanitary products and as many as 30% of girls do not attend school while menstruating, according to a study by Stellenbosch University.
“Getting your period should be a time to embrace your womanhood, but it isn’t for these girls. A period is yet another financial challenge they must face,” said Ndlovu.
The sanitary products were expected to be kept at the school and distributed to identified girls every month.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
