A middling menu: Daleahs in Braamfontein
Transnet’s corporate social investment arm, the Transnet Foundation, launched the Transnet Teenage Health Programme a few years ago to bring feminine hygiene solutions to the poorest communities in the country. The programme aims to help restore girls’ dignity and lower absenteeism that occurs when girls skip school because they cannot afford feminine hygiene products during menstruation.
Through awareness campaigns and education about feminine health and hygiene, the programme supplies girls with reusable menstrual cups as an alternative to expensive sanitary towels, and addresses a range of practical hygiene issues.
In poor communities, where families get minimal or no income, general hygiene and sanitation of necessity move to the bottom of the priority list. The consequence of this is that teenage girls stay away from school and other activities when they menstruate because they do not have access to proper sanitation and feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.
The Transnet Teenage Health Programme integrates education, awareness and a Dignity Pack containing basic hygiene products to empower girls to maintain basic feminine hygiene.
The programme involves various members of the community, including the girls’ parents, teachers, school governing bodies and government officials, and mainly targets girls between the ages of 13 and 19.
The programme consists of three phases – a one-day interactive workshop, supplying the Dignity Pack to the girls, and follow-up sessions in small groups.
The one-day interactive workshop sees a Transnet Foundation facilitator hosting a session to discuss general topics like recognising their beauty and being proud of who they are, and specific topics including puberty, menstruation, teenage pregnancy and self-esteem.
Once completed, each girl receives a “goodie bag” containing a booklet reinforcing the information discussed during the workshop, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, roll-on deodorant, hand sanitiser, and a menstrual cup. Everything is neatly packed in a Transnet backpack and pencil case that is easy to carry.
Over a period of nine months, the girls are given regular opportunities to talk about their experience at small group gatherings hosted by the Transnet Foundation. These sessions also involve girls who have been through the programme before, providing the opportunity of peer learning.
Taking into account the fact that the girls probably would not be able the buy the general hygiene products again, participants are also taught about readily-available alternatives to store-bought products, such as using lemon and aloe solutions for intimate cleansing.