October 17, 2022 – Through WPDI’s advocacy and educational work in schools in the Cape Flats area of South Africa over the last few years, we have faced a high dropout rate among young girls and were confronted by the fact that this was partly due to the lack of access to sanitary pads. Indeed, a study showed that adolescent girls in South Africa can miss up to five days of school per month due to menstruation (Khumalo, 2015). The young women and girls we work with mostly come from underprivileged communities and backgrounds, where basic information about sanitary health is inadequate and there is often a lack of financial aid from their families to help them access suitable sanitary products. ”Most of us here come from broken homes, our parents or guardians would rather buy alcohol than give us money for toiletries. We are really grateful for what you have done for us, thank you WPDI,” explained Asange, who participated in the activity.
This often results in girls being absent from school when on their period. Upon return, they are often stigmatized by fellow students, which only worsens the problem. This is why the WPDI South Africa team deemed it so important to conduct a special activity in order to build positive awareness about their bodies and this completely natural process. The activity provided crucial information regarding menstrual health and hygiene management. “We end up using dangerous and unhealthy items such as old rags, socks, t-shirts, even newspapers or rather stay at home when that time of the month comes,” said Luzuko, another participant. At the end of the activity, the 420 girls were therefore provided with sanitary pads.
WPDI is committed to the health and safety of the communities where we operate. This means running awareness campaigns to reach people – not just girls and female adolescents – in communities where the lack of the basic sanitary equipment and products is often compounded by a culture that stigmatizes girls’ and women’s bodies. We hope these initiatives will go some way to educating individuals about the importance of personal health and hygiene and help our continued struggle to encourage peace and hope in areas that need it most.
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