Cape Town - While period poverty remains a widespread issue in schools, Grade 12 pupils from Camp Bay High school are taking matters into their own hands, by offering free sanitary pads to students, in order to stop the stigma and decrease the amount of students who stay absent due to the lack of sanitary pads .
The teacher in charge of the representative class leader (RCL) Michelle Janse van Rensburg said it is estimated that more than 25% of girls in South Africa do not attend school while they are menstruating because they cannot afford sanitary products.
“While period poverty is a prevalent issue that prevents pupils from coming to school, we don't want this to be a reason why our pupils don’t attend school.
“With Camps Bay High School being a truly diverse school, with pupils coming from a variety of backgrounds, sometimes pupils come to school unprepared. Having sanitary products available for free in the bathrooms avoids all sorts of embarrassment and judgement from their peers,” said Van Rensburg.
Grade 12 member of the RCL, Michael Gulston said that when he was elected as a member of the RCL, he knew he had the platform and support to start the sanitary pads initiative.
“It was something I was passionate about, as I never understood why sanitary products were not provided to all girls for free, as menstruation is not a choice, but a natural, monthly occurrence.
“A woman's cycle can also be unpredictable, which can allow for girls to come to school unprepared. Camps bay is a proudly diverse school, with pupils coming from both rich and poor backgrounds. With this in mind, it's safe to assume that many girls might not actually be able to afford sanitary pads, and would rather stay home from school. By starting this initiative, it eliminates both of the above-mentioned issues, and allows girls to have access to free products, without feeling guilty or embarrassed,” said Gulston.
While the RCL members purchased sanitary pads and tampons, and placed them in all female restrooms on a trial basis, to assess usage and determine if the privilege will be abused or not, however, when the initiative took off, the response exceeded their expectations.
“We, as the RCL, are incredibly proud of the responsibility and appreciation of the young women at Camps Bay High. When we knew our initiative would be a success, we asked parents for both monetary and sanitary product donations. Within a month, we had received more than R17 000 in cash donations,” said the Gulston.
“My first goal was to successfully supply all Camps Bay High girls with sanitary pads. We, as the RCL, have successfully done so. A personal goal of mine is to inspire other schools to adopt this initiative, thus, allowing many more female pupils in cape town to have access to free sanitary products,” said Gulston.
Camps Bay High School principal Louis Mostert said that they are proud of their RCL for driving this incredibly thoughtful project.
“We are very grateful to our community for the generous support for this project, which will ensure that it will be sustainable in the long term. We have no doubt that this small gesture has made a big difference in the lives of some of our pupils,” said Mostert.
Weekend Argus