MEC takes feminine care seriously
THE MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Nomandla Bloem joined the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) in its National Feminine Care Project in Phokwane on Friday.
The team addressed Valspan Primary School, Tlhwahalang and Banksdrift high schools where they handed out a total of 1,500 sanitary towels to girl learners.
The campaign aims to address the lack of access to sanitary towels for girl learners, as well as to portray the pedestrian road safety message.
Bloem highlighted the reality that learners lose out on lesson time and result in recorded absenteeism and poorer performance due to shortage of sanitary towels.
“We realise that we may be experiencing some difficulty in buying sanitary pads at this time.
“One of the results of the Covid-19 pandemic is that a lot of our working adults have experienced loss of income which has resulted in financial hardships in our homes,” said Bloem.
She indicated that the handover will go a long way in restoring the dignity of learners who may not have the means to buy them.
“It is also painful when our learners have to make do with items that are not necessarily healthy for them.
“We are hoping that this small gesture may make a difference.
“It is such a tragedy that the blossoming of womanhood by many girls now renders them at a disadvantage from positively engaging in the building of their futures. This must not be,” said the MEC.
Bloem spoke frankly with learners on hygiene and the meaning of monthly cycles as a normal biological process.
“It is something healthy and something very normal. It just means that your body is functioning as it should and that you just take special care to look after yourself and your body,” she told the learners.
The MEC also handed over 15 pairs of school shoes at Valspan Primary School in Jan Kempdorp and wished them well with classes and a cautionary note to keep safe.
“We are still under some lockdown regulations that require us to sanitise, social distance and wash our hands regularly.
“Wear your mask. By now it should be second nature. Maybe in the beginning it was uncomfortable but by now we must be so used to it we don’t even need to be reminded,” she concluded.