MORE than fifty girls from two local schools in Dryharts village, near Taung received sanitary towels from Mooketsi Road Construction Company on Friday. Coordinator, Neo Segwele said they came up with this initiative with other stakeholders.

Mooketsi Road Construction Company was paving the road in the area. They bought sanitary towels as their social responsibility after completion. Segwele said they delivered boxes of sanitary pads to Jerry Mahura Secondary and Motlhamare Primary Schools.

“We all know that limited access to safe affordable and convenient methods for dealing with menstruation has far reaching implications in rural areas. So we saw it fit to come up with this initiative to bring dignity in physical, social and mental well-being of many female pupils.

“Some pupils said they have been using newspapers and toilet rolls because they live in abject poverty. Adolescence is a crucial stage of life and one that is challenging for most girls because of its physical and psychological changes. They said one of the major physiological changes in adolescence girls is menstruation,” Segwele said.

He said some of the learners stay with their grandparents and have no money to buy sanitary pads. Segwele said menstruation was not only a health concern, but also an educational challenge as some of pupils missed classes during their periods.

Motlhamare primary school teacher, Mary Thaganyane said: “We highly appreciated what has been done by various road contractors in our village. This really shows that they do not only care about getting tenders, but have the interest of the pupils at heart. Menstruation is a barrier to the educational rights of adolescent girls especially in rural areas.

“We need to teach girl children about new development within their bodies. They need to be aware of physiological changes such as increased body size and the ability to reproduce as well as psychological changes, including the ability to think critically, an expanded reasoning capacity, identity formation and sensitivity to the new body image.

“However, for most girls in rural areas, this phase often brings challenges that push them out of school and social activities. These challenges have often been underplayed, even though research has shown that their effects are significant.”

Grade 7 pupil, Onthatile Maleta shared the same sentiments. She said the initiative was good as some of the pupils come from poor backgrounds. However this will cease the situation.

“Some of learners come from poor background and that pushes them to miss classes. However it eases one’s mind knowing that you can always approach teachers for help with sanitary towels. Some girls are very shy to talk about these new developments within their bodies, but we encourage them to get educational help to understand what’s going on,” Maleta said.

-TDN

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