Charity for teen girls takes off

THERE’S a week to go for South Africans to put their money where their mouth is and donate to one of the best charities – the Million Comforts campaign.

In partnership with The Independent on Saturday, the DisChem Foundation urges South Africans to donate sanitary towels to make sure no single girl misses school this year because they are menstruating.

All you have to do is visit your local Dis-Chem store and buy one of the specially priced in-house sanitary towels for less than R10 and drop it in one of the specially branded purple coloured bins in-store. If you buy sanitary towels from Always, Lil-lets or Stayfree, these manufacturers will match your donation, one for one.

Studies show that girls between the ages of 12 and 18, living in poverty in urban and rural areas, can lose up to a fifth of their education because they do not have feminine hygiene products – and are too embarrassed to attend school during their menstrual period.

#Million Comforts and Caring4Girls seeks to answer the twin problem of sanitary towels and social taboos – with your help. “This initiative is not just critical to ensuring young girls stay in school, but to break the chains that would otherwise condemn them to a life of poverty and hopelessness,” says Dis-Chem Foundation chairperson Lynette Saltzman.

“By being able to complete school with the best possible matric qualification, they can go out and create that better life.”

Million Comforts works with Imbumba Vision, which not only distributes a year’s worth of sanitary towels to the recipients, but also provides training.

Be part of the fight against stigma and help us help the future mothers of the nation by dropping off your donation instore – until next Saturday.