Mrs Graca Machel and Richard Mabaso of the Imbumba Foundation handing out sanitary protection to the young girls at Escola Secundaria Graca Machel in Mozambique
Original article appeared on spice4life.co.za
Caring4Girls has moved into Africa, starting with Mozambique, thanks to the support of Mrs Graca Machel and Premier.
Caring4Girls is an initiative set up by social entrepreneur Richard Mabaso of the Imbumba Foundation, which helps educate young women about feminine hygiene, de-mystifies puberty and the passage into womanhood, and provides underprivileged school-going girls with sanitary pads.
Together with Machel, who was visiting her country of birth where she had personal experience of the difficulties of a lack of access to personal hygiene products when growing up, and working with a Mozambique Charity, they distributed two months worth of personal hygiene products from Lil-Lets to young girls at a school.
Every year Mabuso takes on Kilimanjaro to raise money for Caring4Girls, in order to help young girls in impoverished rural areas regain their self-esteem and dignity.
Machel says the donation from Lil-lets provides the incentive for girls to engage the best of their time and energy on educational activities, while creating an appropriate hygienic environment to help build their confidence, self-love and dignity for better learning, while ensuring they don't miss school time due to menstrual challenges.
The initial handover took place at a secondary school named in her honour, Escola Secundaria Graca Machel, but the long term objective is to make this a sustainable project not only in Mozambique, but throughout Africa. Over 3 000 packets of sanitary towels were handed out to 1 350 girls at the school. The sanitary towels are dual packs and will support the girls for at least four months each.
"Many girls miss up to 50 days of school each and every year because they do not have access to sanitary protection," says Darlene Smith, Marketing Executive of Premier Home and Personal Care.
"Premier recognises that education is a basic right and a key enabler for individuals and communities to sustain themselves in the future. The sanitary pad distribution with Machel was the first outside South Africa, and we are proud to be working with her to make a different in the lives of young women.
"We hope to maintain a long term relationship with Machel and her current outreach programme in Mozambique. She believes honouring Madiba¹s legacy isn¹t only about making big gestures but it is also about trying to make small differences in the lives of people around you."
She added, "Lil-lets is trying to do its bit to ensure young girls don¹t miss school. Nelson Mandela once said education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world, and through our sponsorship of Caring4Girls and our We Are Woman campaign, we are able to open dialogue with young woman to help educate them on personal hygiene and menstruation, to remind them they are not alone and bring back the respect and dignity they deserve.
"We understand what it means to be a woman and some of the challenges women experience, including when they have their period. But it need not be a time of additional stress and anxiety, and our hope is to encourage young women to talk, share and learn from one another."
Click here for more information on the Caring4Girls initiative, or go to www.wearewomen.co.za for advice and additional access to information.