#doDifferent, Period!
That time of the month, a visit from Aunt Flo - these are common euphemisms for menstruation, which happens to every woman during her lifetime. It is a normal and healthy part of life for most women, which roughly 26% of the global population are currently experiencing. But did you know that young girls in South Africa miss up to a fifth of their high school experience because they cannot afford sanitary pads? That’s why, this week, we are looking at a #doDifferent campaign that is currently running to help give girls their dignity back and care for them by keeping them in school.
The Dis-Chem Million Comforts campaign, which first ran in 2015, aims to provide sanitary pads to teenage girls in need. This campaign is committed to the empowerment of schoolgirls, raising awareness about women's health, and giving these girls the opportunity to continue their education without the burden of hygiene risks, discomfort, embarrassment, or the loss of dignity.
Each year, this campaign continues to grow from strength to strength, allowing the Dis-Chem Foundation with Caring4Girls to have a larger distribution outreach nationwide of sanitary pads to girls in less fortunate communities. Last year, over 145 000 girls did not miss a day of school because over 10 million sanitary towels were donated to #millioncomforts.
This year, the partners involved are The Dis-Chem Foundation, Dis-Chem Baby City, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, Caring4Girls, Discovery Vitality, The Independent and Shield, each raising awareness for the cause, as well as enabling their clients to give back. They have also made it easy for people to donate. You can either choose to donate pads online or in the store, or you can donate your Dis-Chem benefit points towards purchasing the pads for this campaign.
This campaign will be running from 15th June to 13th August 2023, and their aim is to get over 10 million sanitation pads for school girls in need. One week in and they have collected over 573 000 pads already, which is amazing!
We have phenomenal young women in South Africa, who have so much potential. Help care for these girls, enabling them to stay in school to reach their dreams by being a part of this campaign to #doDifferent and provide #millioncomforts.
Find out more about this campaign here.
