03 Dec 2020

 Bangwato Tribal Administration staff wellness committee in Serowe has donated 506 sanitary pads to learners at Patikwane JSS in Mabeleapudi recently.

Speaking during the handing over ceremony, tribal administrator, Mr Venjonoka Ndjarakana said they found it fit to donate to the girl child because they were the most vulnerable members of society.

The theme of the donation was: Help girl child stay in school. Mr Ndjarakana underscored the fact that hygiene was important for a girl child. 

He said the donation would help in every way possible to bring comfort as well as confidence to young girls.

Mr Ndjarakana urged pupils to work hard and produce good results, advising them to take their studies seriously. He appealed to them to give education first priority.

He said Serowe Tribal Administration staff were concerned that the girl child was disadvantaged as a result of Gender Based Violence (GBV) which has engulfed the country at an alarming rate.

He said teachers were torch barriers, appealing to them to groom pupils at the grassroots level to be responsible citizens. He commended them for working hard despite challenges they faced.

He said Tribal Administration staff, which includes dikgosi, were embracing Vision 2036 ideals on sustainable economic development, human and social development, sustainable environment and governance, peace and security.

The focal person of Serowe tribal staff wellness committee, Mr Tshenolo Magodi said the objectives of the donation were to assist disadvantaged pupils, and that they were aware that government had adopted a motion to provide sanitary pads to all girls attending schools.

He noted that most of disadvantaged pupils missed school during their monthly periods while others lost their education interest making them more likely to drop out of school.  

He said donating to such female pupils was a way motivating and teaching learners to be positive.

Mr Magodi said they would reach out to other schools in the constituency to give the girl child a dignified life and for them to live normal lives so that they could become responsible individuals in future.

School head, Ms Phoda Kgomotso praised the donors and said the gift came at the right time when the school had a lot of challenges. She said the gift would motivate pupils and assist in their well-being.

On other issues, she encouraged parents to help pupils with their studies and afford them time to rest. She said the school changed from being a 12 stream school to a 23 stream school after COVID-19.

She noted that the school’s catchment area were villages of Paje, Mabeleapudi, Dimajwe, Majwanaadipitse and Tshimoyapula where most of the parents were disadvantaged people who depended on government handouts. ends