Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel helps address period poverty at Willow Crescent Secondary School
04 October 2021While South Africa has made great strides in addressing issues of poverty, millions of girls continue to face the hardship of missing days’ worth of school while having their period but no finances to afford sanitary products. Happening monthly, this has a massive knock-on effect onto their learning throughout the year and could see them lose up to 60 days of school time.
Addressing this issue of period poverty during August’s Women’s Month, the learners and parents at Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel joined together to undertake a “women’s dignity” donation drive for neighbouring Eldorado Park’s Willow Crescent Secondary School. Close on 600 sanitary packs were received throughout the drive which will go a long way in assisting the school’s 873 girls.
On Wednesday 22nd September, a group of Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel’s Grade 11 learners joined Executive Head, Oriol Morgan and two teachers to hand-over the sanitary products to the girls of Willow Crescent. The visit also saw two Curro learners Khanani Tinghitsi and Kianga Mbatha, give a short address to the school about uplifting women and girls and taking a step forward in ending period poverty.
The donation drive is part of the school’s #HopetoHeal initiative, a national movement lead by the young voices of our future. Launched by Curro in July 2021 in response to the violent riots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, it aims to spread the message of hope for South Africa by calling on individuals, families and businesses to get behind issues that affect themselves, their communities and their country.
“The girls of Willow Crescent Secondary School deserve dignity and through our efforts as a school, we are honoured to play a role in assisting them with the donation of sanitary pads. It is through these small acts of kindness that we hope to make a difference and encourage others to get behind the #HopetoHeal initiative and impact their own communities too. It is through empathy and understanding that we will address and overcome our issues of period poverty and we thank the learners and parents of Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel for showing theirs,” says Oriol Morgan.