Media Room

Members of the Mayoral Committee, Ward Councillors, Institutional Development and Support Officers of the Education Department (IDSO), School Governing Body (SGB) Members, Principal of the School, School Management Team (SMT),

Fellow Educators of the School, Officials of the School, Life Skills, HIV/AIDS Officers of the Education Department, Interested and Affected Stakeholders, Fellow Representatives of the media, Learners/Students of the School. Sanibonani, Dumelang,Good morning!

Programme Director, I am personally pleased to be launching an awesome campaign of this magnitude within the municipality being a woman specifically on women’s month celebrations targeting young girls. As a caring and people centred municipality under the leadership of the ANC, we decided to take up the challenge after we have learnt from the research findings of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). I have afforded my immediate and unconditional support to these laudable attempts as the Executive Mayor.

Background: Information according to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) research findings.

• Poverty-stricken girl learners miss up to 40 days of schooling each year during their menstrual cycles/ periods.
• Rural communities live miles away from shops.
• Non-affordability of the sanitary towels to many of our community members.
• Bunking of classes to avoid shame and embarrassment during monthly menstrual cycle.
• 60% of school going girls cannot afford sanitary towels.
• About 50 of schooling days are unnecessarily lost as a result.
• Chances of girl-learners rising to the top of their class drops drastically each month during the menstrual cycle.
• Girl-child becoming too shy to ask for appropriate assistance.

Aims/ Objectives of the campaign:-

• Launch a campaign of this nature to assist the girl-child in need.
• To support disadvantaged communities of the municipality.
• To concentrate on the general health of young girls.
• To present destitute girl-learners with sanitary towels.
• To improve therate of school attendance of girl learners.
• To halven the plight the plight of needy girls within the municipality relating to menstruation.
• To promote sanitary awareness on behalf of the girls.
• To counteract challenges facing the girls with respect to sanitary issues.
• To promote education on menstrual hygiene thus keeping girls in school.
• To march together to ensure that the girl-child achieves complete freedom and enjoy fulfilling lives.
• To restore the self-esteem, self-confidence, dignity and rights of our young girls.
• To improve performance of learners by reducing absenteeism of the girl child from school.
• To accelerate effective action to reduce poverty and inequality.
• To mentor school girls on sexual maturation, puberty and their rights.

Way- forward:-

• Help disadvantaged girls by supplying them with sanitary towels.
• Encourage girls not to drop out of school due to sanitary hygiene challenges.
• Prevent missing precious schooling time during their biological periods.
• Re-inforce the campaign as an outreach programme partnering with other interested stakeholders.
• Ensure an uninterrupted quality learning-teaching time.
• Motivate future leaders of tomorrow not to lose hope and despair because their destinationis all in their hands.
• Emulate and imitate women like Sophie de Bruin, Helen Joseph, Charlotte Maxeke, Lillian Ngoyi and Dr NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma in becoming women of substance that are made up of sterner stuff.
• Celebrate August 2012 month with future women embracing the theme: “Women unite in fighting poverty,unemployment and inequality in our communities.”
• Accelerate sanitary access in line with President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address thus promoting gender equality in South Africa.
• Help achieve the objectives of the Freedom Charter that” the doorsof learning shall be opened to all.”
• Future dignity packs: Vaseline, body lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, roll-on, and a pack of sanitary towels. (On condition of securing reasonable partnership and sponsorship from private companies for assistance in this regard).

In conclusion, I would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to our partner ABI (Vanderbijlpark) and VCC (Vereeniging) for their unwavering commitment to contribute towards the success of this laudable campaign. We believe that this is not an individual female matter, but a societal matter.

• Focus on education because it is the future.
• Not to be discouraged and lose hope when the future looks bleak.
• Stay firm,hold-on and press on until you reach your goals.
• Put a concerted effort to become someone in the community because you are not a failure, but have the potential to succeed.
• Use your learning-teaching time to be the best to your utmost benefit.
• Use the chance provided to implement ideas, concepts and the God-given talent.

Together, let us create a caring society that loves its women and children as members of our society at large.

I thank you
Kea leboha
Ngiyabonga
Ngiyabulela