06 Feb 2019

Senyawe Primary School has been fortunate enough to begin the new year by receiving a total of 636 sanitary pads from one of Botswana’s flagship retailers, Spar Supermarket. 

The donation, which came from three Francistown-based stores being Nzano, Marang and Nswazwi as well as Tutume Spar, was handed over to Senyawe Primary School representative at a ceremony held in the northern city yesterday. 

In his remarks, Nzano Spar’s assistant manager, Mr Reetsang Mojamela stated that as a retailer making money out of Batswana, the supermarket chain considered it important to give back to the community that supported them.

The retailer’s wider campaign to donate sanitary pads, dubbed ‘Better together’, began last December after the realisation that many girl-children often missed classes because their parents could not afford sanitary pads while others resorted to using alternatives such as toilet paper. 

The supermarket chain partnered with the Ministry of Health and Wellness to donate sanitary pads to 15 primary schools across the country in Kweneng, Kgatleng, North East, North West, Central and Kgalagadi. 

Mr Mojamela said the Francistown region was allocated Senyawe Primary School, where the pads would impact 79 girls. 

Ms Caroline Setshego, a nurse specialising in sexual reproductive health, applauded the supermarket chain for the good gesture, saying menstruation was natural and that women deserved dignity when going through it. 

Unfortunately, she noted, issues of sexual reproductive health and puberty were still a taboo in many households in Botswana. 

“Many parents shy away from directly warning their girl child that they have reached a stage where they need to take care of themselves accordingly and be aware of their physicality. 

We have seen cases where the girls are not even aware of how to properly insert a pad, or they do not even know how to observe a monthly menstrual cycle because their parents do not take the time to teach them,” Ms Setshego said. 

She called on parents to strictly monitor their daughters on a monthly basis to ensure they had their menses. 

In the event there was no monthly period, parents should take their children to the nearest medical facility for examination. 

Ms Setshego observed that Francistown had a high rate of teenage pregnancy, which she said showed there was need for more education on sexual reproductive health in schools. 

A Senyawe Primary School representative, Ms Omphile Ngakaemang said the donation would go a long way in assisting the pupils. ends