The MENstruation Foundation, brainchild of multi-award-winning actor and producer Sivuyile (Siv) Ngesi, aims to end pad poverty and the stigma surrounding menstruation.

In line with their vision and in the run-up to World Menstrual Health Day on May 28, the foundation paid a visit to Hoërskool Die Burger on Friday, May 22, bringing along one of their groundbreaking sanitary pad distribution machines, which they hope will go a long way to ensuring dignity for learners who cannot afford sanitary pads.

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According to Ngesi, one out of three South African schoolgirls cannot afford sanitary pads.

“They miss school. They fall behind. They drop out. This is an education crisis, and it has been ignored for too long,” he says.

“We believe we have a viable solution to this problem, and we are pushing hard to employ this technology at schools and other institutions where the need exists.”

The sanitary pad dispensing machine works on a token system, where girls can receive tokens from a designated teacher, which they, in turn, put into the vending machine to receive a packet of 12 high-quality sanitary pads at no cost.

Ngesi adds that he is co-owner of a company that produces more than 600 000 sanitary pads per day.

“We saw an opportunity during a visit to China, not only for business, but to do good within our communities, country-wide.

“We invested in the machines, and we have since become one of the biggest manufacturers of high-quality, affordable women’s sanitary pads, with one of our core goals being to give back to our communities.”

He adds that the foundation currently distributes over one million sanitary pads every month to support learners across the country.