What is period poverty?

"A lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these."

How period poverty affects people:

• Mental health and wellbeing- being unable to manage their period with the appropriate menstrual products can make people feel upset, depressed and uncomfortable.

• Health and hygiene- People unable to access menstrual products have resorted to using toilet paper, children's diapers, rags, etc. and all of these put them at a higher risk of infections affecting the urinary and genital systems.

• Education- not having access to sanitary products often lead to girls missing school, which has long-term consequences.

Statistics and facts about period poverty:

• Globally, an estimated 500 million people who menstruate lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities.

• If a girl child misses school due to her periods, she is set behind 145 days a year behind her male counterpart.

• Almost 40% of school-aged girls in South Africa do not have access to menstruation products.

What we can do to alleviate period product:

• Donate sanitary towels to our organization (a packet of pads costs only R5 at Spar retailers).

• Donate funds into our bank account (an amount as little as R20 goes a long way).

• Raise awareness of the issue by starting the conversation with those around you.