In the rural town of Ngcobo in the former Transkei in the Eastern Cape, an athlete turned philanthropist is working to alleviate the plight of young rural girls – one sanitary pad at a time.
Marathon runner, Vuko “Vince” Loqo, says he was touched by the many stories of girls in far-flung, deep rural areas who are often forced to miss school when they are menstruating.
Through his foundation, Ithemba Support Foundation, he’s embarked on initiatives to fundraise for sanitary pads for needy rural girls. “Whenever I run a marathon, I ask for sanitary pad donations from businesses and organisations,” says Loqo.
“It really pained me to see children in my villages suffering because of something that is natural, and being unable to attend school. But I’m happy that I am managing to put a smile on these girls’ faces and restore their dignity.”
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Missing school during menstruation
16-year-old Ntlantla Butshingi from Cwecweni Senior Secondary School in Ngcobo is one of the recipients of pads donated by Loqo’s foundation. She says she often struggles to attend school whenever she’s on her period.
“It’s not easy because it is something that can happen at any given time. And sometimes it occurs while you are in class and you will find boys making a mockery of you. As a result, I often stayed at home when I was on my period,” Butshingi says.
Coming from poor backgrounds, access to sanitary pads is not easy for adolescent girls.
“At home, my parents are struggling to make ends meet, and they sometimes cannot afford to buy them for me. It would help if we could get them at school. But we are happy to receive donations like these,” says Iviwe Mateyise (15), from Pakamani Senior Secondary School.
She appeals to the government to make sanitary pads available on a regular basis for every schoolgirl. “The government must work hard to ensure sanitary pads are freely accessible at schools, just like chalk and duster, because they are also a necessity.”
Policy gaps
In 2019 the government introduced the Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework to provide pads to underprivileged women and girls, including those in no-fee paying schools. However, many girls are still not benefiting from the programme.
A teacher at Cwecweni SSS, Ziyanda Sotyato, says period shame contributes to some girls even dropping out of school.
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“Menstruation awareness for both girls and boys and their parents is needed on a regular basis. We can’t escape the fact that most parents in our villages still refuse to speak openly about these issues. But we try our best to preach the message so that learners don’t feel ashamed to inform their parents when they are on their periods. This donation will go a long way in ensuring that we keep these girls in class and focused all the time,” Sotyato says. – Health-e News
