The programme was started in 2012 after Imbumba founder, Richard Mabaso, overhead a fearful conversation between his mom and niece about menstruation, which to this day is deemed taboo by many societies. Realising that this fear and lack of understanding existed, even within his own family, Richard initiated the Caring4Girls programme to address the problem on a national scale.
Research has shown that underprivileged girls can miss up to 50 days of school per year due to lack of access to adequate feminine hygiene. Girls’ choice of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by cost, availability and social norms. Menstruation is a barrier to education for many of our girls and restricts their opportunities for involvement in educational and sports activities.Caring4Girls creates a voice for indigent young girls and catalyses and promotes positive body literacy and autonomy, as well as gender equality.
The Caring4Girls Programme combats period poverty by providing menstrual hygiene support in the form of sanitary pads as well as menstrual hygiene education to indigent girls.
Over 1,700,000 girls currently benefit from the programme throughout the 9 provinces of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Tanzania.
Contribute by donating as little as R10 for a packet of sanitary pads through the GivenGain platform.
