Teen on a mission to improve the lives of young girls
By collecting sanitary towels and distributing them among young girls in rural areas, this hopes to make a big impact
POLOKWANE – Many girls residing in rural areas cannot afford sanitary towels and end up missing school as a result.
Gr 12 learner from Curro Northern Academy, Nhlanhla Mashile, has made it her mission to help these girls and ensure they never have to miss class again.
Nhlanhla is a 17-year-old who is determined to make a difference in the lives of these girls and plans to help restore their dignity by raising awareness and removing the stigma associated with menstruation.
Her first step is to collect sanitary towels for underprivileged Gr 7 girls at Greenside Primary School.
“The drive to honour the women who are murdered daily and help raise awareness about abuse prompted me to begin this initiative. I believe we have to keep fighting it in order to stop it. Through this initiative I want to remove the stigma associated with menstruation which I believe will be the first step to overcoming the numerous obstacles which occur in communities,” she said.
Brenda McCann of Subz Panties and Pads, a company which specialises in sanitary towels and underwear called Subz Pads which are washable and reusable pads and panties, said they are proud of Nhlanhla and her plans to help the needy.
“She shows great courage and initiative, qualities we would like all our girls in South Africa to possess. Our main focus in providing the pads to the girls in South Africa is to enable the girls not to have to miss any school because of their period and lack of access to sanitary wear. We are so humbled by Nhlanhla’s project and we hope she inspires more people to do the same and help the less fortunate girls in their community,” she said.
If you want to join Nhlahla’s initiative, contact her at 084 362 4479 for more information. She plans to collect as many sanitary towels as possible which she will then deliver to the school at the end of June.
