The Dis-Chem Foundation launched their annual Million Comforts campaign last month and have already reached the 3 million mark in the second week of donations.
The foundation has partnered with shoppers and many of the major feminine hygiene brands, to donate millions of sanitary pads to girls who don’t have access to them, with the objective of keeping girls in schools.
Studies show that teenage girls, between the ages of 12 and 18, living in poverty in urban and rural areas can lose up to a fifth of their high school education because they do not have access to feminine hygiene products – and are too embarrassed to attend school during their menstrual period.
The Dis-Chem foundation works with Caring4Girls, who distribute the pads to schools in rural and underprivileged areas across the country, along with puberty and menstrual hygiene training and try to educate the learners, to debunk social taboos around menstruation. Million Comforts and Caring4Girls seek to answer the twin problem of sanitary towels and social taboos – with your help.
The public can donate sanitary towels until July 31 this year to make sure that no girl misses school because of her gender.
Committed to changing the lives of all South Africans, the Dis-Chem Foundation has placed branded drop off bins in Dis-Chem Pharmacies countrywide.
Major feminine hygiene product suppliers: Always, Kotex, Lil-lets, Stayfree and Libresse have once again committed to matching in-store purchases of their products 'Like for Like'.
Last year, 10.1 million pads were donated through the Million Comforts initiative. The Random Act of Kindness campaign ends on July 31.