Learners at Ebenezer Primary now have free access to sanitary towels at the school. This comes after the I Am For Her Foundation recently installed a sanitary towel machine at the school.
With the help of sponsors the foundation was able to donate sanitary towels and machines to various schools across the Western Cape, in celebration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May.
Bathabile Dlamini, former Minister of Women in the Presidency, said in 2018 at the Menstrual Health Management Symposium that research showed approximately 7 million schoolgirls in South Africa couldn’t afford sanitary hygiene products.
It is statistics such as these, in this instance indicating “period poverty”, that drives the local I Am For Her Foundation of Paarl, which began in 2019, to reach out to girls’ throughout the country.
This donation is also a special moment for Ebenezer school and the founder of the I Am For Her Foundation, Nicky Cupido, who also attended the school along with her family members.
The school is very happy and excited about the donation. Olivia Jardine-Solomon, a teacher there, said: “Ebenezer Primary is delighted and grateful to be the recipient of this generous and much-needed donation from the I Am For Her Foundation. It warms the heart when alumni and their families give back to our school!”
The foundation believes all women who menstruate should be able to deal with the condition equally and with dignity.
Besides their donation, the organisation also reached out to three other schools in the province, where they also installed sanitary towel machines. The schools are Vista High School in Cape Town, Gordon High in Somerset West and Tamboerskloof Primary in Gardens. These donations were made possible by the hard work of I Am For Her, but also by the continuous support of private donors.
“With a lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, and education around menstruation, many girls and women across the country suffer from period poverty,” says Natalie Jardine, head of branding at I Am For Her Foundation. “The sociological effects of this far extend from simply missing school or work, but essentially make these individuals feel alienated from society while menstruating.”
Jardine added the foundation aims to make a difference across South Africa through “proper education on menstruation, access to waste management and sanitary towels,” she said.
For more info and how to contribute, visit www.iamforherfoundation.co.za.
