Access to Sanitary Wear for 1000 Girls in Matobo

In the second quarter, the HOCIC GlobalGiving team purchased sanitary wear for 21 young youngs in a bid to conduct a pad drive in commemoration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day. The team worked with organizations such as Voice of Youth and Children Trust (VOYACT) and Afriprime. The team also conducted a WhatsApp dialogue with adolescent girls on the importance of menstrual hygiene. The young girls were enlightened on the dangers which are accompanied by poor self-hygiene when one is in her menstrual cycle. It is of paramount importance to highlight that the Covid-19 pandemic has left young girls susceptible to life-threatening conditions like cervical cancer as they cannot afford sanitary wear which can assist them to not contract such infections. There were 50 participants who attended the WhatsApp dialogue. The team worked with Self Help Group which is a program under HOCIC. Notable is that the team made a donation to a young adolescent girl in Bulawayo who lives inLobengula. The young girl living with her unemployed father. She lost her mother when she was giving birth to her young brother. Therefore she is staying with a father who is not employed and a stepmother. This team made a donation of 8 packs of sanitary wear, a bar of soap, and a face towel. The young girl showed her gratitude by thanking the HOCIC GlobalGiving team for their kind gesture and how this will assist her as she goes back to school. The young girl highlighted to the team that she would sometimes skip classes at school because she did not have proper sanitary wear. To add to this, she reported that there were occasions where she would improper materials which at the end can cause vaginal infections. It is worth mentioning that the team is still working towards the Padrive and they are doing so through collecting more donations of sanitary wear from well-wishers. The sanitary wear is aimed at improving the menstrual health of adolescent girls from Matobo and Bulawayo.