Majority of households are direly affected and government is overwhelmed to meet the economic needs of the community. As an initiative to plough back to the Selebi-Phikwe community, Baitshephi Ba Jesu Gospel Choir identified period poverty as a critical area to address.
This is meant to assist government by donating menstrual products to schools in Selebi-Phikwe. The target for the envisaged pink project initiative (PPI) is the girl child. Poverty and lack of basic needs undermine girls to meet their health needs.
There have been cases where young girls absconded from school during their menstrual days because of lack of feminine hygiene products. Some even resorted to using dangerous substitutes that make them vulnerable to reproductive diseases.
Through the initiative, Baitshephi Ba Jesu Gospel Choir seeks to ensure access to education for all irrespective of their socio-economic status. The choir is complementing government’s efforts in ensuring adequate supply of feminine hygiene products in schools particularly supporting Selebi-Phikwe that has sustained the community choir over a long period of time.
“We want to ensure undisrupted quality education for a girl child and retention of the outstanding academic performance of Selebi-Phikwe schools. Menstruation is costly mostly to economically deprived households, who constitute a significant number of the town’s community,” a choir leader said in an interview. This is the gap that Baitshephi Ba Jesu seeks to address through the initiative. Economic and social challenges are diverse in Selebi- Phikwe but shortage of sanitary pads should not be one of them, at least for now.
The response towards the drive has been so overwhelming and the choir appreciated local companies and individuals who supported the initiative and donated towards the drive.
Objectives of the Initiative • Make learning conducive for all despite economic status • Closing the gap between the rich and the poor learners • Restore dignity for the girl child • Complimenting government’s efforts by giving back to the community
