TWO WITS residences, Sunnyside and Jubilee Hall are running a campaign to collect sanitary towels for girls who cannot afford them.
Between February and April, the two will be competing to see who will collect the most tampons and pads. The initiative was started by Witsies Mandy Ntsie and Kgomotso Mokaba. They say that this is their way of giving back to society.
Ntsie and Mokaba want to get everyone involved: “We want to raise awareness on the issue and we want everyone to be involved.”
Students, who want to help, can drop off a donation of sanitary pads at either Sunnyside or Jubilee hall.
Forty percent of girls do not go to school during their menstrual period because they cannot afford to buy sanitary towels, a UN study revealed.
Without pads or tampons, the girls end up having to stay at home during their periods. They end up using cloths, tissues or newspaper.
On average, a girl goes on her periods for four to seven days every month, which means those who do not drop out, could be missing about 84 days of school every year.
