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Chronicle Reporter
More than 60 underprivileged girls in Emthunzini, Umguza District have benefitted from a sanitary dignity programme which saw each of them receiving a menstrual kit.
The kits, consisting of a packet of reusable cloth pads, bathing soap, laundry soap as well as two pairs of underwear, were donated last Friday by Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe Trust in partnership with an Australian based Zimbabwean woman, Ms Palermo Moyo.
Ms Moyo celebrated her birthday by fundraising to help the girls.
“To mark my 30th birthday, I decided to help fight period poverty by donating these kits which I hope will bring dignity to the girlchild,” said Ms Moyo.
The sanitary wear distribution took place in Emthunzini where some young girls said they had never used sanitary pads or any commercial menstrual wear before.
Girls from child-headed families, those who live with their grandparents as well as those who dropped from school due to poverty, received the kits.
A 15-year-old girl who lives with her grandmother and was one of the beneficiaries, said her self-esteem was eroded after she was mocked at the community borehole after staining her skirt while on period. She said she is no longer comfortable walking in the community as boys call her names.
Another beneficiary, 19-year-old only identified as Nobuhle, thanked Ms Moyo and Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe Trust for coming to their rescue.
“The reusable pads that we were given today can last more than three years. This is really a huge relief as most of us girls here cannot afford to buy disposable pads on a monthly basis,” she said.
Menstrual hygiene products are basic necessities and therefore girls and women’s failure to access them violates their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Many underprivileged girls and women cannot afford sanitary wear and the situation has been worsened by the Covid-19 challenges.
Online Reporter