Foundation creates awareness menstrua and donates essentials to learners
Since the inception of the Young Women’s Dialogue, more than 500 young girls from Atteridgeville and Soweto have benefitted from this project.
Victoria Mokone-Ochieng, the Humanitarian Projects Manager and team leader of the EndPeriodPoverty campaign hosted a Young Women’s Dialogue on August 21.
The dialogue targeted Grade eight girls at Emshukantambo Secondary School in Pimville in celebration of Women’s Month.
EndPeriodPoverty campaign is one of the four pillars of the M4 Foundation and the talk aimed to address the so-called menstruation taboo in local communities and black society.
The M4 foundation has visited about 300 schools with the same goal of instilling knowledge in young girls about how to take care of themselves hygienically when they are on their periods.
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“I think I experienced a kind of joy at the end of the session when one of the girls came to me and said she was so happy and she appreciated that I came because she even got to learn that there are different options to try to manage her menstruation, whereas growing up she only knew about one which is the usage of disposable pads,” said Mokone-Ochieng.
Mokone-Ochieng has also donated sanitary towels, toiletries and school uniforms to learners at the school before.
The M4 Foundation has a quest to fight menstruation stigma and period poverty in Africa.
Since the inception of the Young Women’s Dialogue, more than 500 young girls from Atteridgeville and Soweto have benefitted from this project.
Iris Mokgano, the Grade eight to 11 Life Orientation teacher expressed her joy over what the M4 Foundation did at the school.
“I felt so proud and I am glad they tackled this topic because usually with us when growing up and even now due to culture, our parents are not free to talk about menstruation,” said Mokgano.
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The young girls at the school got to learn about the different types of pads that they can opt for depending on their comfort.
They also got to learn that it is not a crime for them to ask male figures in their families, for instance their fathers, brothers, or uncles to bring pads for them.
Two Grade eight learners, Thato Petlane and Keamohetswe Mokgothu spoke about their experiences during the talk.
“I learned about the different types of pads and how to help myself should I go on my periods for the first time.
“The biggest highlight for me was that menstruation is a normal thing and we should normalise it as a society,” said Mokgothu.
Mokone-Ochieng ended the visit on a positive note by giving each Grade eight girl a pack of pads.
