Health workers in the Boland did their bit to ensure girls don’t miss out on school, by donating sanitary pads to arme learners.
Jo-Anne Otto, spokesperson for the Department of Health’s Cape Winelands District Office, says many girls missed school for up to three days a month because they can’t afford pads.
They became aware of the issue through one of their clinics who hosted a similar project during youth month.
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The Cape Winelands District Office then decided to host a Women’s Day tea where each staff member had to contribute a pack of sanitary pads.
“Even the males in the office were involved. Many of them being dads and husbands were quite unaware not only of the cost of sanitary towels, but also of the fact that some girls were losing a couple of days of school virtually every month due to not having access to protective equipment,” says Otto.
The 74 staff members managed to collect more than 100 packs of pads which were recently distributed to Worcester Senior Secondary School and Breërivier High in Worcester.
Worcester Senior Secondary prinicipal Amadeus Neethling says the donation is of “a great help, especially for rural children who always had to go to a friend’s house to change if they got their periods while at school”.
The project will run until the end of October.