Organizations wage war on period poverty

Rumbidzai Mhlanga

BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe’s comatose economy has resulted in period poverty persisting  among vulnerable girls and women, thereby prompting several organizations to intervene with campaigns aimed at ending the scourge.

 Period poverty mainly emanates from financial constraints which are caused by wide ranging life events that negatively affects a girl or woman’s capacity to access sanitary products.

Priviledge Matunzeni who works for a Christian organization  named Young Life said she was motivated to provide sanitary pads for girls as well as mentor them because of her own unpleasant experiences during her formative years. 

“I got a chance to become the helper I wished I had when I was still young.

 I love working with  young women so I can be their big sister…I realized that they sometimes skip classes because of period poverty and I came up with this initiative to donate sanitary wear because I know the pain of lacking in that area.

I grew up under the care of my stepmother and sometimes she would refuse to give me money for sanitary pads and I had to use the white stuffing inside my teddy bear as pads. Being so helpless destroys a girl’s confidence therefore while growing up, I made up mind that one shouldn’t suffer or go through the period poverty that I experienced.

I get donations from people, some in form of money while some come in as pads. We now have about 50 girls who registered under our organization who receive sanitary pads twice a year. Our main focus is to help all the girls who do not have anyone to help them so that no girl skips school because of menstruation. We also want to avoid a situation where a girl uses unsanitary materials in place of sanitary wear.  I once encountered  someone who was using a maize cob as a pad, as hard as it is, never mind the effect of using such unhygienic and germ infested materials on their private parts,” said Matunzeni.

Adrian Moyo, Coordinator of My Sister’s Keeper, a teething initiative which started operating in September, shares the same sentiments with Matunzeni as he feels most families do not prioritize sanitary wear for girls due to several reasons. 

“I came up with this project of providing sanitary wear for teenage girls recently during the lockdown upon realizing that most households were struggling to make ends meet as a result of the Covid 19 induced lockdown and they were prioritizing mainly food stuffs. Some breadwinners  prefer to buy alcohol for themselves disregarding  the girl child’s needs in the process. Touched by the girl child’s plight, I decided to step in and help my fellow sisters under the  #EndPeriodPoverty and #RestoreDignityamongadolescent girls.

 Although  I am currently relying on handouts from friends and associates,  I am determined to make this project a success.  We have just started but so far we have manage to assist about sixty girls and we are still mobilizing donations so as to reach as many people as we can,” said Moyo.

He further said young women in his community do not only need donations for sanitary pads but also need mentorship with regards self-esteem and morality.

“In one of the communities I work with, I came face to face with the reality of poverty, gender inequality and the struggles of adolescent girls. Some go as far as trading sex for money to make a living and meet their needs including sanitary requirements. The hardest-hit are those from childheaded families and from financially disadvantaged families. The whole situation takes away their dignity and self-confidence. My Sister’s Keeper is here to help young girls out of such compromising situations which might dent their future.

So far, I am getting positive responses from a lot of people, they embrace the idea because they have seen some good results. I am planning to escalate things  and create a mentorship platform for the girls on behavior change, gender equality and human rights and I am  working with local peer educators from from National Aids Council,” he added.

Inside-Out Development Trust under the #Girlchildrescuemission is spearheading a campaign to help female prison inmates and vulnerable girls with sanitary wear to end discomfort and embarrassment during their period time.

The Inside-Out Development Trust was formed in 2018 when  founder, Clarence Gurara together with his partners Owen Sibanda, Elvis Sibanda and Novuyo Saungweme resolved that every girl should have access to sanitary protection including  poor girls and female prison inmates.

For Gurara, working with prison inmates for quite a long time  made him realize the gap when it comes to catering for women’s special needs in prison and society in general. It is this realization that prodded him to try and fill the gap.

“I have been working closely with prison inmates since 2016 and during that time I recognized that no one assisted women especially with their special needs. Through talking to female inmates and rehabilitation officers, I gathered that the issue of sanitary wear was a challenge. I then took it upon myself to launch a campaign of supplying vulnerable girls and female prison inmates with sanitary wear amongst other things like food because we also have inmates who have dietary needs.

Our aim is to have vulnerable teenage girls, orphans and disadvantaged ladies as well as female prison inmates taken care of. We have partnered with a couple of foundations and ministries and made donations in Pumula North, Queens Park, Nkulumane and Mlondolozi Female Prison,” Gurara said.

A study by SNV Zimbabwe claims that 72% of menstruating schoolgirls do not use sanitary pads because of poverty. Zimbabwe relies on heavily importing sanitary wear due to low sanitary wear production within the country.