Ensuring happiness and dignity through pads project
After gathering enough knowledge, she registered her own organisation and started an Instagram account where she published self-designed posters to woo potential donors to her cause.
While the early stages of the dreaded coronavirus hard lockdown last year saw many ensuring sufficient basic necessities for their families, a young local teenager defied convention and started a meaningful project to help vulnerable girls.
A charitable Lethabo Mofokane from Strubens Valley was given a thumbs up by her parents and backing from a few friends to start the Mpho Ya Lethabo Foundation which means Gift of Happiness – an organisation that aims to promote good menstrual health and hygiene management, and dispel the stigma around women and young girls’ menstrual cycle.
This 17-year-old, who is woman-empowerment and social-development driven, started a sanitary pad drive after realising a great need for the items during her first project with friends.
“I was in school when my friends and I realised how fortunate we were in terms of access to learning tools during the pandemic, while other learners from marginalised schools struggled to access study material such as textbooks. I then took it upon myself to do research about the affected schools and also gathered knowledge from an NPO expert about starting one,” Lethabo explained.
After gathering enough knowledge, she registered her own organisation and started an Instagram account where she published self-designed posters to woo potential donors to her cause.
“I started interacting on this platform and got my friends to repost some of the posts which garnered 150 followers on the day of hosting the page,” she boasted.
Prior to the 2020 matric exams Lethabo, who was also doing Grade 12, temporarily put her studies aside and went out to donate study packs to a school on the East Rand. “For my first project, I donated about 150 exam care packages which consisted of stationery to the matric learners at Jiyana Secondary School in Tembisa. The experience inspired me to do more, which led to the sanitary pad drive project this year,” she explained.
With the assistance of a group of friends, Thato Sikwane (co-director of the foundation), Molemo Mathabatha, CJ Masina and Nqobile Mweli, they conducted a pads drive whereby they raised about 700 packs of sanitary towels which they donated to a number of institutions. “We made three drop-offs – starting at Ikusasalethu Secondary School in Bram Fischerville, then Nkosi’s Haven, and concluded at Bienvenu Shelter in Bertrams,” she listed.
With this project, the confident youngster aims to be consistent and restore hope in addition to paving a new path for herself this year. Lethabo completed her matric at Abbotts College Northcliff where she obtained a bachelor’s degree pass with two distinctions. While she continues with this selfless cause, she hopes to study towards a BA or BCom Law at the University of Johannesburg, or IIE MSA.
To donate towards this project, email lethabomofokane@gmail.com or visit Gift of Happinessza on Instagram.
