Personal message

The limited access to affordable sanctuary products is a global issue and continues to be a significant problem, especially in South Africa. Anti-poverty NGO, The Borgen Project states that seven million South African girls cannot afford sanitary products (2023). All young women deserve access to clean and safe period products. Without it young and older women alike are at risk of getting “reproductive and urinary tract infections, which can lead to future infertility and birth complications” (The World Bank, 2023). Poor menstrual hygiene is not a choice but a result of the inaccessibility of sanitary products. Young girls' inability to obtain sanitary products causes “around 30% of girls” to miss school (Borgen Project, 2023), while “others drop out of school altogether” (UNESCO, 2023). Not everyone menstruates so these challenges disproportionately impact those who do, posing a real threat to girls' education. 

The Goal: To combat menstrual inequality through education, engagement, and experience. 

Education: Subjects of contraception and protection concerning unwanted pregnancies and or STIs are often absent from schools and homes. Any contributions will go towards educational workshops on menstrual care, related to tracking cycles/fertility, homemade pain relief, managing stigma, common misconceptions, and STI protection and prevention, assisting young women in understanding what is happening in their bodies, and how to take care of themselves. As young women ourselves, we know the amount of misconceptions and misinformation about proper menstrual hygiene and sexually transmitted diseases, and in contrast how validating it is to know how to work with your body, instead of against it.

Engagement: We have had the honor of attending the community health workshops, and asking about the needs of women here 92% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they wanted to learn more about women's sexual and reproductive health (Mamelani, 2023). This campaign, and Mamelani alike, prioritize participants' voices as a guide for goal setting in/programme development.  

Experience: At the end of each workshop, the aim would be to provide participants with reusable menstrual products. By equipping women with the knowledge and access to reusable options, we are not only promoting environmental sustainability but also empowering them to take control of their health and well-being.

Our names are Fiona and Tsion, we are students studying in the U.S., majoring in Sociology at Brandeis University and in Public Health at Simmon University, both in Boston, Massachusetts. Together we are volunteering at Mamelani Projects in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Mamelani Project is an organization in Cape Town, South Africa, that works on youth resilience and community health. Their Health Facilitators are a passionate group of women from the communities they operate in, facilitating workshops and community clubs that provide needed medicines and treatment as well as education. Currently, the community health workshops cover key health issues such as Non-communicable Diseases, Hiv/Aids, and TB, understanding your body, and healthy nutrition so that participants can be resilient in their health. Workshop participants reported a 97% increase in health literacy (Mamelani Annual Report, 2022). 

Together with Mamelani, we hope to launch this Sexual Health and Menstrual Care workshop. 

Mamelani would like to roll out this pilot program in the next 6 months, if you are willing to participate in our fundraising efforts, either through a financial contribution or by sharing our fundraising campaign; any assistance you can provide, whether big or small, would go a long way in helping us reach our goals and make a significant impact.

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