BEING a teenager is hard enough having to cope with physical changes, overwhelming emotions and, of course, finding your own identity.
It’s even harder being a teenage girl growing up in an underprivileged household, where buying the bare female necessities is just not possible.
The fantastic duo Anushka Makka and Mtuza Mathebula have joined forces and started the ubuCiko Bokupha – ‘The Art of Giving’ – project.
This initiative is aimed at reaching out to disadvantaged young girls from communities in and around Richards Bay by ensuring that on a monthly basis each young girl identified is provided with the bare female necessities.
‘I was reading an article on young girls suffering from reproductive tract infections (RTI’s) due to ‘home-made’ solutions during menstruation, and realised many people give to charity, but do people ever think of young girls that cannot afford essential items? Adolescent girls are usually left out’, explains Anushka.
Through this initiative, both Anushka and Mtuza would like to create awareness around the difficulties experienced by underprivileged young girls. ‘This is an issue that is not addressed and we hope to develop this project further by tackling such issues faced.’ said the ladies. ‘We are not only targeting rural schools, but also urban schools as well. We are hoping that the schools will be more actively involved in the New Year.’
Being both career driven individuals as well as home-makers, the duo says it’s not easy juggling day-to-day activities and the project. ‘Mtuza and I have a very giving nature where we would rather put others needs before our own, so for us, ‘The Art of Giving’, is close to our hearts and gets the needed attention’, explains Anushka.
The community can assist by sponsoring the identified young girls with necessary essential items, which includes a pack of sanitary towels, soap, tooth paste, roll-on, deodorant, lotion and shampoo.
‘People who truly master the art of giving, give out of the goodness of their hearts with no self-serving motives. Giving becomes a blessing for the giver and receiver’, highlights Anushka.
The ‘Art of Giving’ stands by the Xhosa Proverb, ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye abantu’, which means people are people through other people.
For more information on how you can help, contact theartofgiving.sa@gmail.com.
